Ode to an Avenger
by Mimicking Karma
Summary: [On Long Hiatus]In which Sasuke fails to do that which he has sworn to do, and must learn to deal with his new purpose, whatever that may be. NejiSasu [Slight AU]
1. Chapter 1

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**Ode to an Avenger**

**01**

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He stood over him, the fallen one. Blade slick with blood, rain matting down his hair, wiping clean the largest wound on his left side that was still bleeding. 

Red met red, as their eyes met and their blood pooled together. Blazing hatred evident in Sasuke, and dignified calm in Itachi.

Itachi, laying so pitifully broken at Sasuke's feet, mud oozing through his Akatsuki cloak, mixing with his blood, and both Uchihas shared the same thought:

_Itachi will die now._

Even as Sasuke raised his katana, gripping the hilt so tightly it shook, blood flecking his already bloodstained face, he reminded himself of what Itachi had done, years ago.

_I can kill him. I can finally kill him._

His resolution wavered as he saw Itachi staring back at him, making no move to defend himself. As if it would make much of a difference; the slashes to his rib cage made it entirely too painful to breathe let alone attack. Itachi blinked the blood out of his eyes and waited. Even the Sharingan in its many forms could not save him now.

Ironically, he grew impatient as Sasuke stood over him, frozen in an attack stance, as still as a statue. He'd been waiting for this death for so long now, and to have it so close...

"Sasuke."

And Sasuke glared at him, hard and cold, hating himself for hesitating, for having second thoughts about killing the bastard that killed their family nine years ago.

He'd been ready, prepared to live up to his Avenger name, ready to slam the blade deep into Itachi's cold heart.

Then he had to speak, just had to confuse and irritate Sasuke even more, because when he spoke, Sasuke was reminded so vividly of their childhood, and calls of _Aniki _and prods on the forehead, and for a second he was sure that somehow Itachi was able to use the Tsukuyomi on him, until he realized that the rain was still hitting him, and he was still wet and cold, and his blood was still flowing, thick and hot out of him.

And he cursed himself, as he sheathed his sword, as he froze that image of his brother forever in his mind; Itachi, his once unstoppable _Aniki _looking so pathetic and drawn.

And he screamed at himself, in his mind, as he felt a hot tear come from his eye, blazing a slow salty trail down his face until it was swept away by the raindrops.

And he wished death upon himself, and he wanted some kind of finality so fucking badly he bit clear through his bottom lip to stop any sound from escaping, even as he turned from Itachi, turned, and tore through the rain, slipping on wet tree branches in his haste to just get the hell away, and his eyes ached but he ignored them, a wordless scream of rage erupting from him as he left behind his brother.

Hating Itachi for doing this, for royally screwing him over again, dammit, and for making Sasuke realize something that enraged and delighted and confused and scared and unhinged him all at once:

He still loved Itachi.

"Fucking...goddamn fucking asshole!" Sasuke yelled, to himself and yet wondering if Itachi could hear him, because it was only fair that the one he was cursing was able to hear the venom with which he was being cursed.

The rain kept hitting him in droves, smacking his face and making the footing precarious, high up in the trees. He angrily pressed his hand to the large gash on his left side and ground his teeth at the newfound stinging pain, then pulled his hand away, because what comfort did he deserve when he'd just thrown away his best chance at doing what he'd sworn to himself he would do, years ago.

Covering miles in a matter of minutes, fuelled by rage and blinding hatred, but not for the pitiful spectacle he'd left behind; for himself, because he asked himself why was he so stupid and useless and weak. Why the hell did he let Itachi live? Why did he still love that bastard the way he had when they were young?

_Some avenger I turned out to be. _

Sasuke came upon the familiar forests surrounding Konoha, but did not slow his pace, instead opting to go back to his house in the Uchiha compound and tear up any remnants of his brother, and perhaps burn it all to the ground.

And he came upon the gates, nearly thirty meters ahead of him, and suddenly someone was running beside him, keeping in synchronization with him, and trying to talk to him, if the low buzzing was any indication. Sasuke ignored this pest, he'd always been good at that, until this person had the audacity to _lay a hand on his shoulder!_

Sasuke jerked violently away and he leapt up and over the wall, his anger returning now that someone was there to see him so weak and pathetic, and he was now on the wall of the Uchiha compound, ready to step to go home and carry out his plans for destruction. Then that same person dared to touch him again, but this time anticipated his reaction and grabbed both arms and spun him around to face...

Kakashi.

Kakashi, who was still talking at him, and Sasuke dimly recognized some words, like _blood _and _what happened _and his anger intensified tenfold because why the hell was he acting like it was his damn business? He wrenched free once again and slammed a vicious kick to Kakashi's midriff; a gasp of pain and Sasuke was already running into his house.

He was in Itachi's room, and whatever survived his previous attacks was mercilessly decimated now, and all the while Sasuke was aware that he was incoherently yelling at the top of his lungs, but none of this helped because he still loved that bastard and he still knew he could never kill him, and so he'd failed.

Failed at his life's mission, and he hated himself so much that he couldn't stand, and only when he had sunk to sit leaning with his back against the wall that he realized that Kakashi was there, watching him with concern and a tad bit of fear, but he looked nothing like Itachi did when _he _stared at him, so Sasuke was able to breathe and relax a bit.

Kakashi crouched in front of him, breathing only slightly hindered by the kick Sasuke had hit him with, and he asked quietly,

"What's wrong, Sasuke?"

Sasuke laughed in a way that wasn't funny, and stared back at Kakashi, and he told him, "Everything. I failed again, at everything I tried. I always do, and it's always because of _him._"

Before Kakashi could answer, the blood loss finally got to Sasuke and his vision wavered in between black and too bright, and he recognized Kakashi moving forward to carry him for proper medical aid, and he bet his life that if he woke up, it would be in the hospital.

_Fuck you, Itachi. I can't even think about _you _dying anymore._ With that last thought Sasuke allowed his eyes to shut, and allowed the warmth that was Kakashi to envelop him as they left together, the remnants of Itachi's room falling back into silence

----

**Edit: **Grammar and other such issues. This whole story will be checked over for these (I know there is a few...or a lot) and then maybe it can finally be updated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ode to an Avenger**

**2**

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Tsunade had been going through the usual duties of Hokage, deciding missions that needed to be taken care of, determining the skill level required to complete the mission, then sending the more vital ones to the ANBU that were always waiting, always ready to assassinate with their blood-thirsty grace.

Sometimes she wished the ANBU were not needed. Sometimes she wished that missing-nins and deserters would have the courtesy to show up and apologize, and perhaps even politely slit their own throats or behead themselves, just to save her time and procedure. Sometimes she wished Shizune would quit it with the idle chatter as she filed and sorted, and kept up to date on medical advancements.

And sometimes, Tsunade just plain wished her reputation didn't precede her, as the strongest and best damn medical nin this side of the Five Countries, especially when she had Jounin bursting into her office carrying blood-soaked pale kids, because really now, in all consideration, when would she have time to tempt Lady Luck with all these interruptions?

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as Kakashi stopped and stood tall in the middle of the room, somehow maintaining his mysterious persona even as the boy in his arms dripped blood.

_What the hell happened to him? _Tsunade's first thought broke clear through her startled mind. And exactly how the hell had Kakashi entered so easily into her office, her private domain, when there was supposed to be at least two guards at Chuunin level or higher outside her door? She sighed, then sorted her priorities:

Deal with the bloodied form she now identified as Uchiha Sasuke, _then _chew Kakashi out for making her heart leap at his sudden entrance.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked as she came from behind her desk to stand in front of Kakashi. Blood was still staining her special wooden floor, and she gestured to her right. "Shizune..."

White drop cloth laid out on top of the dark couch already, Shizune stood by, assessing the damage from where she could see Sasuke. Kakashi immediately crossed the room and deposited Sasuke gently on top of the white sheet, then stepped back for Tsunade.

"Why the hell would you bring him_ here _and not to the hospital? Where they have_ staff _properly _equipped _to deal with this?" She demanded as she knelt next to the couch, chakra already humming around her fingers as she placed them first to Sasuke's temples.

"I thought his injuries would require your skill, Hokage-sama," Kakashi answered, voice muffled as always by his face cover. "They seem a bit too extensive for the average doctors, and I figured you may want something to do."

Point taken, and grudgingly grateful for something to occupy her time other than paperwork, Tsunade sighed to feign her annoyance, while inwardly she glowed with the praise. Yes, she _was _heaps better at the medical arts than those employed at the hospital, and yes, she did so love to be told she was far above average, especially by young men like Kakashi, thank you very much.

It wasn't until she ran her hands slowly down Sasuke's body and reached just under his last rib on his left side that she saw the reason he was bleeding so much. There, from under his rib to his left hip was a wide, gaping gash, that oddly resembled an open mouth if Tsunade tilted her head ever so slightly and squinted.

"Do you know what happened?" She asked Kakashi even as Shizune moved forward with rolls of clean beige bandages and the Hokage ripped away the tattered remains of the muddy and bloody shirt. _Ah shit..._

Kakashi waited until Tsunade had begun to stitch and Shizune heal with chakra and wrap with bandages after her, to speak. Once his worry had tapered off and he could assure himself that Sasuke would indeed be fine.

Waited until the blood stopped flowing, and finally began to clot; although he couldn't see it, he could imagine the cells desperately bunching up and staying in one big group to keep the life blood in. Waited until the tension in his chest that had nothing to do with Sasuke's kick –which had hurt more than he'd expected– allowed him to breath easier.

"I met up with him as he entered Konoha. I don't know where he was coming from, but I followed him once I saw how badly he was injured." Kakashi neglected to mention the blow he had been dealt when he'd tried to confront Sasuke; it wouldn't do to place him back on the Hokage's radar, not so soon after she finally trusted the Uchiha enough to send him on missions.

Tsunade pursed her lips and frowned, and Kakashi thought for one panicked moment that she would say '_No, sorry, I can't do anything, we'll just have to let him bleed it out...make space for him at the Uchiha cemetery.'_

She simply said, to his relief, "He was on a mission to the Hidden Rock Village to retrieve a scroll that I require. I see that he managed to complete it," she added, belatedly noticing the small black leather carrying case that was strapped near his hip.

"I didn't expect him to run into such difficulties." A lie. "Perhaps I should have sent someone else with him." A regret.

Kakashi didn't bother asking what the scroll was, or why it was important to Tsunade. He only focussed on the steady rise and fall of Sasuke's chest as the blood flow was fully staunched, and the bandages that were now wrapped around his shirtless abdomen. Anyways, he knew, she would not tell him. No need to press his luck.

Tsunade nodded once at the body in front of her, then rocked back on her heels before standing. Shizune handed her a damp cloth that she'd produced and the Hokage wiped her bloodied hands on it, turning back to Kakashi as she did so.

"He'll be awake in a matter of hours, and I've got some medicine for him to take to make up for the blood loss." Behind her, Shizune was removing the scroll that Sasuke had retrieved and slipping it into a pocket in her shirt.

"Kakashi, if you could–" Tsunade broke off at the rustle of the sheet behind her, and turned back around to see Sasuke moving around on top of it, his bandages and exposed skin getting covered in his own sticky blood. The three of them waited, unsure if he was waking or simply shifting from being unconscious to just sleeping. It was clear that Tsunade hadn't expected him to recover so quickly, judging by her raised eyebrow.

As they watched, Sasuke frowned, and Kakashi knew if he were awake it would be a full-on glare. But his eyes were still closed, even as they saw his eyes moving around beneath his eyelids, and he suddenly tensed, neck and arm muscles so taut they looked ready to snap, and just as suddenly he was sitting bolt upright, eyes open, Sharingan spinning madly; Kakashi moved forward, and Sasuke saw the slight movement and with a '_thump' _was off the couch and standing behind them, at the far side of the room, back pressed against the wall.

Surprised by his speed, both Tsunade and Kakashi faced him when they heard his harsh respiration, and saw his tongue flick out to moisten his dry lips, and his fingers twitching as though prepared to form seals or hurl kunai.

And then Kakashi cleared his head, and said without moving "Sasuke", and before he could say anything else, the boy was frozen, and staring hard at his on-again, off-again sensei, appearing to be trying to bore holes through his head with his fierce red eyes.

With a sharp blast of breath, Sasuke was calm, standing as upright as he could without pulling the stitches he undoubtedly felt, and breathing was only slightly laboured as he took in his surroundings. He saw the questioning looks from Tsunade and Kakashi, and the more timid glance of Shizune, who was now standing behind her two superiors.

_Idiot. You left Itachi behind. Get over it. Say something, so they'll stop staring. _His voice refused to work, even as he opened his mouth and inhaled his talking fuel (air).

_Say something. Say something now! _

"Fuck."

_Oh yeah, that went over well._

"...I...Hokage-sama, I was–" _Cursing myself for being so damn slow?_ Better reply than any, he told himself. Certainly won't mention what drove him off the deep end, his damn _love _for that–that–

"Trying to scare the hell out of me? Well good job, you succeeded," Tsunade managed to say. In truth, she hadn't been scared at all; well, maybe a little bit, but she decided to lighten the mood somewhat. To no avail. She sighed inwardly as her attempt at humour was felled even as it was delivered.

_If he was Naruto, _she thought, _it'd be 'old hag' this and 'top heavy' that, but with him, the moment is just killed._

"I didn't mean to..."Sasuke trailed off as he realized he didn't know what he 'didn't mean to' do. His mind seemed to have shut down, or he'd skipped some crucial events and he was now in the Hokage's office, in Konoha, and not twelve miles away trying to kill Itachi. _Focus, damn you, _he ordered his mind sternly.

Tsunade waved off his unfinished sentence, and instead told him, "I see you completed the mission. Good." Damn, she never knew how to react to someone who had fulfilled their mission; thank them, praise them...what? Sometimes she wished there was a Hokage handbook, that instructed one on the matter of dealing with subordinates.

"I expect a full mission report in two days' time," she told Sasuke, discreetly eyeing his bandages and hoped they would hold after that rather violent leap. He could meet that deadline, she knew. If he could jump around then he certainly would be able to ink out his mission details.

Sasuke nodded and went to push himself off the cool wall he was leaning against, when his hand skidded on the slippery veneer and he was flashingly reminded of the slimy tree branches, and the slick feel of Itachi's blood on his hands, his face, and now he disgustedly wiped his hand over his face, feeling crusted blood and knowing that not all of it was his.

_How can I love him after hating him for so many years? I shouldn't be thinking about this now but why can't I kill him? Just a blade in him and he's down, down for the count, and I can move on, and if I don't then the years with Orochimaru were a waste and stop thinking about this it's not the time or place for a mental breakdown oh goddammit love should be hate, utter black hate I can see it...just black now..._And with a soft '_bump' _Sasuke landed on the floor, ending his slow slide with his back still against the one thing that was solid to him.

"He's just over-tired," Tsunade promised Kakashi, even as Shizune moved forward to straighten the twisted bandages. Kakashi nodded, unable to shake the feeling that there was something off about Sasuke (hell, that had been evident when he'd attacked Kakashi then screamed like a maniac and destroyed that room in his house) but he felt better knowing it was nothing physical.

"So...home or hospital?"

Tsunade had already gone back to her desk, and was sitting down and watching Kakashi lift Sasuke up again, this time with no fear of blood, and her mind was already on the scroll that Shizune had placed on the desk, and it took her a moment to understand what Kakashi had asked her.

"Hmm? Oh. Take him home, he's in no threat of dropping dead any time soon. Perhaps, you could stay with him until he wakes...?" Tsunade recalled that although Sasuke lived with someone else ( who was it again?), his house mate was on a mission.

"Is Neji not here?" Stupid question. Obviously he wasn't, otherwise it would have been _him_ being kicked, _him _getting bloodstains all over his clothes.

_Oh right, the Hyuuga kid. _"Neji is with Shikamaru on a mission to Wave country. They should be back tomorrow. Which is now today," she added, peering at the clock on the wall and grimacing when it read 2:07 AM.

Another nod, and this time Kakashi had the sense of mind to carefully depart the Hokage's office, and not burst out and scare the hell out of anyone else. Or piss off the two Chuunin at the door, who were still seething about his easy entrance. He _could _have been an enemy.

Tsunade waited until Kakashi and Sasuke were gone before rubbing at her eyes in an effort to fend off the bleary vision that came with sleep deprivation. Shizune had already tugged the bloodied sheet from the couch, and was handing it out to one of the guards to take care of it.

"All right then," Tsunade said, screwing up her eyes and shaking her head firmly. "You and I both know the importance of this scroll Shizune," she spread it out across her desk, and smoothed it flat. "So let's get started on stopping the bastard."

----

Somewhere in the Wind country, there was a man. And this man was in a roaring rage, because a member of his group was missing. And it was common news to all that Akatsuki members do not simply 'go missing'. They are the reason others go missing, or turn up dead.

Akatsuki members do not go missing. Especially not the infamous Uchiha Itachi. He knew enough not to leave the rest of the group hanging, and now the angry man in Wind grit his teeth, and swore to murder anyone who dared to even suggest that Itachi was killed. By his own brother.

Who, incidentally, was _not _an Akatsuki member, which made the mad man in Wind country even more furious, because Uchiha Sasuke was not an Akatsuki member, and more importantly, may have killed one of the best.

Aha, a thought. An inkling of an idea that seemed to seep like ink on paper with every passing second it was dwelled upon. And suddenly, the furious mad in Wind was so not enraged, or mad, or furious. Because he decided on something, then, at that moment. And it was so painfully obvious that he couldn't believe it had taken him that long to figure it out.

No, Uchiha Sasuke was not an Akatsuki member. At least...not yet.

Somewhere in the Wind country, there was a man. And this man was recovering from a bout of rage, because now there was a possibility of a new member of Akatsuki. And this made the formerly angry man a moderately pleased one.

----

'_Shake the rain from his eyes and hair, this odd rain that was coloured red and was running down his face in rivulets. Adjust the grip on the sword hilt, and come back to yourself.'_

This was oddly familiar...

'_Sidestep the sudden yet expected burst of flame, but don't look up; no time to drown in memories thanks to those red eyes. No, no Mangekyou today, thanks for the offer.' _

Didn't this just happen?

'_Feel the hot flash of pain and the warm blood begin to trickle out from the hole in his side. Feint left, ignore the dizzying pain, and swing right. Effort thwarted, no problem, cut down and to the left and up in a high arc.'_

I think I cut him here...

'_See the dark figure on the ground, in the mud where he belongs, shocked that he has been brought down by the very same person who swore to do so. Both of them wait for death.'_

But then I–

'_Hate turns to love, disgustingly enough, as seems so common these days. Deaf to everything but the red eyes in front of him, that challenge and speak to him even now, but all he hears is'_

Then he had to speak, so I–

'_Otouto...I love you...we'll train today...don't stand so close to the water...Sasuke' _

"Sasuke."

'"_Sasuke". And damn him to hell for causing the indecision, and his inability to speak, or move, or do what he's aimed for, for so long..'._

"Sasuke."

'_Now things are different. Now he can say what he wanted to, before, and now he has the chance that he lost, before, so he can finally say'_

"Sasuke."

"Shut the hell up Itachi!"

Then his eyes opened, and the ground below him was not cold and muddy, but warm and soft, and oh, it was a bed, and oh, it wasn't Itachi that he now knew he spoke out loud to, because oh, it was Kakashi looking mildly surprised but saying nothing, and _oh, shit _was his first independent thought.

"...I don't think I have the right shade of hair to be mistaken that badly."

Typical. Kakashi would always rather take the lighter side of things than deal up front and personal with things that should be handled so. So Sasuke decided that if Kakashi was going to be like _that, _then he would be like _this, _and he sat up properly, acting as though he was about to get out of bed (and how did he get there exactly?) but really he was just making himself more comfortable. He's always been partial to sitting up to sleep; it was just convenient.

Neji deemed it 'creepy', because, he said, he didn't like waking up and seeing Sasuke just _sitting _there, looking like he had sat up late at night to ponder great mysteries of the universe, when really he was just sleeping. Sasuke had told Neji that his eyes were the only creepy thing (not really, Sasuke loved Neji's eyes) in the house, so Neji shut up and they didn't speak about it. They both decided that creepiness was in the eye of the beholder.

Kakashi was just watching him, not even pretending to be absorbed in one of those books of his, but Sasuke could be stubborn too, so at first he stared back, but after a minute he became bored with the still scenery so turned his head and looked out his window.

And then he realized that no, this was not his window, and glancing around him he saw that nor was this his room, and he didn't like the sudden weight settling in the pit of his stomach as he recognized his shared room with Itachi, that had a special bed for the two of them to share on the nights that they were feeling so brotherly. And in this bed Sasuke remembered their peaceful settling in routine, and the way they lay close enough to feel the others' breath, but far enough to keep some semblance of distance between them.

Before he knew it, he was jumping from _that _bed, and angrily brushing at his skin that was still itchy from the wool blanket that had always been there, as though he could brush off the memories and the feeling that he could still smell Itachi's unique scent of pine and peach. He tried to shake his stupid, vulnerable heart that was happy it was remembering his time with Itachi, and wanting to relive those memories, and it was all Sasuke could do not to take a kunai and carve it out.

He sent a dark glare to Kakashi, who was already standing and explaining, "I didn't know which room you used..." but it faded into nothingness as Sasuke left the room to wash himself, because now he felt contaminated and he wondered if he could clean his heart too, because it was making him dirty for remembering.

_So what? _He asked himself as he made his way down the dim hallway. _So I mistook Kakashi saying my name for Itachi saying my name. That's not a big give-away or anything and who am I kidding? So much for keeping quiet about the whole Failed Avenger issue. Wonder if he'd be as disgusted as I am..._

Sasuke turned into the bathroom, and went to the sink and turned the hot water on full blast, waiting impatiently for the sink to fill up. He noticed it was taking a rather long time, and sighed at his own remarkable abilities as he saw that he had yet to put the plug in. Muttering under his breath about new-fangled technologies he shoved the rubber circle into the sink hole and commenced waiting for it to fill up.

Ignoring the steam that was rising he shut off the tap and dipped his hands below the surface, welcoming the heat that immediately enveloped him and made its way up his arms until his face was burning. Splashed the water over his face and without looking took the soap from its dish and soaked it, until it became slippery in his hands and he rubbed it up and down the length of his arms and onto his neck and face.

His eyes stung as suds burned their way under his eyelids, and he hissed in pain and angrily threw water at his face, opening his eyes wide to flush them out. Still hurting so he closed them and did what he knew was the worst possible thing, rubbed at them viciously and felt the soap burn back, and he wondered for a hopeful moment if maybe the soap would drip down to his heart, and clean it, so he'd be clean clean clean and wouldn't have to think about..._that _anymore.

He became aware that he was crying, in an effort to get the stinging soap out. Tears were a good way to purge the impure forms from within, Sasuke knew, and for a moment he could pretend to himself that he could feel the black in his heart roll down his face and land in the sink, mixing in with the water and dampening the counter top. Wishing to himself that maybe his memories would leave him just as easily, so in the event that Itachi was still alive, he wouldn't be after their next encounter. Maybe Sasuke could steel his heart against his childhood memories, and instead pick from the fray the feelings and images that came with the day he came home and found Itachi's legacy, their murdered clan.

At the soft sound at the doorway behind him, Sasuke reached for the small black face towel and pressed it against his face, straightening as he did so in an attempt to ease his spine that was complaining about being bent for so long. The tension rose as Sasuke continued to ignore Kakashi and likewise, the Jounin refused to be deterred by Sasuke's ignorance.

_I am not in the mood to be interrogated, _Sasuke informed Kakashi mentally. _Kindly get the hell out of my house. While you're at it, bring Neji back. _

Instead he said, "You don't need to stay here anymore. I'm fine." _And suicide is for cowards._

"Is that who you fought?" Sasuke threw down the towel ( how symbolic) and glared in the mirror back at Kakashi. Dared him to keep talking. Dared him to draw attention to Sasuke's angry retort upon awakening. Instead Kakashi watched him, visible eye in a flat line. His serious mood. Which was exactly what Sasuke didn't want to have to deal with now, because if there was anything worse than a cheerful Kakashi at the worst possible time, it was a serious and caring Kakashi at the perfect time.

Sasuke reached into the cooling water and pulled the plug, watching the water swirl down the drain, tugging gently at his half-submerged hand, and he stared intently in hopes of battling away the memories that threatened to resurface. It was only when he felt the air cooling his hand and his jaw so tight it might crack that he finally stepped back, wiping his damp hand on his black pants and turning to leave. Stopped short, because there was someone in his doorway.

_Kakashi? When did he get here? _His mind fuzzily worked up the energy needed to remind him that Kakashi had been there ever since he woke, probably even before. Why the hell couldn't he remember that? With an inward shrug he chalked it up to his exhaustion and managed to put one foot in front of the other, until he was past Kakashi and down the hall, throat yearning for a liquid soothing enough to counter the raw feeling that made it hurt to swallow.

Walked past a door that was still half open, and his regrettable glance inside showed it was Itachi's room and he grit his teeth and pulled the door shut, hard, sealing in his brother's scent and voice that called out to him even then. He would not, he decided, venture in there again. Yet. His mind just begged him to set the room ablaze to silence it once and for all, but he wouldn't. Yet. Not while Kakashi was there.

So he calmed his raging mind, but then stumbled upon a thought as he continued on his way to the kitchen to get a drink –water, he was thinking– and he would have laughed to himself, or at himself if he could remember how to. And he thought to himself _why the hell do I still live here? _To which he had to admit he did not know. Every morning when he woke up, and remembered everything, and knew all the rooms that had blood in them, and the front room where his parents had been; every day it was like a slap in the face.

So why did he stay here? Sasuke mused on this as he took a water bottle from the fridge and unscrewed the cap, tilting the contents back into his throat. Sentimentality, he decided. It was nice to be able to live here and feel so connected to his family, although how he could connect with spirits was beyond him.

Back to the present, Sasuke was annoyed to find Kakashi standing and watching him, as though waiting for something. Had he asked a question? Sasuke tried to recall but then decided he didn't really care one way or the other. He had more pressing matters to attend to, like...what time was it? An interesting question; required a straight answer, no shades of grey and second-guessing. Look out the window at the lightening sky, hazard a guess and say dawn. Five AM or so.

"Sasuke."

_Go to hell. It's none of your business, just drop it. If I feel like talking about it, well, it won't be with you. I want Neji. He can understand to some degree. I don't need you hanging around, get out, go home, go on a mission, go die, whatever the hell you want to do, but I swear if you–_

"Can I have some water?"

And Sasuke felt relieved but didn't show it, and he nodded and moved for Kakashi to get his water, and they didn't talk for the rest of the night, and so a disaster was averted thanks to serious and caring Kakashi, who came at the perfect time for once.

----

Orochimaru acted like he was mad, and disappointed, and he verbally assaulted the cowering Sound nin that had let the scroll fall to Sasuke. But when he was gone, and Orochimaru was left alone except for Kabuto, who was always there, he allowed the makings of a smile of triumph to appear on his face.

And he chuckled, just a bit, and very softly, so it was mistaken for the sound of him clearing his throat. Kabuto knew better by now, though, and he seemed pleased as well as his eyes flashed behind his tinted lenses, happy because his lord was happy, and this was the respectful feeling to convey.

So the two of them sat, and he reveled in his victory, because he knew now that it would come, and he remarked that he always got what he wanted, even if it took a while. And Kabuto agreed, as always, and then his sickening simpering grew on the sannin, and he dismissed the medic nin, already bored.

He knew the moment Sasuke had the scroll; felt that powerful pulse of chakra the moment the boy's hands touched it, and he knew that it would be brought back to Konoha, and he knew Tsunade would figure it out, and he knew she would try to counter it in whatever way she could, and he knew that there was no way she could, so he smiled a bit wider because all of her efforts were to be in vain.

The joke was on them, because whether they knew or not that he could perform his seals and jutsu perfectly well again did not matter, for they could not stop it either way. His impending triumph. He could taste it, a mixture of blood and acid and other delightful pieces of life.

Orochimaru was pleased, because he would get what he wanted, and at the same time throw it in his olds teammates' faces that nobody could stop him, or his curse seals, or his two favourite weapons that did not know they were his weapons, but one would figure it out before the other, and in doing so...

He knew he would have much to be pleased about in the coming months. Because he always got what he wanted, and right now, he wanted his two weapons to be pitted against each other, and destroy kill maim demolish any place and person that tried to stop them.

Orochimaru sat back, and waited for the inevitable. It would come, as all good things come to those who wait. And he'd been waiting for an awfully long time, so his reward was due. To think it was so close...he hadn't felt like this for a while, so he decided to treasure this moment.

These precious, precious moments before the world was shaken to its foundation, and only he would emerge standing.

----

**Edit: **Some grammar and such. Oy, I smell a more developed storyline as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ode to an Avenger**

**-**

**3**

**-**

Neji wiped the dots of blood from his face, disgusted by how they clung to the back of his hand as though begging for entrance, back into a living body, to be surrounded by that of their own kind, more of that thick liquid. Disgusted by how common this blood was, and disgusted that the body it came from dared to splatter his face. He was a Hyuuga, born and bred, and even though he was part of the branch house he'd learned from early on that they were the purest of the pure.

Turning his back on the corpse Neji saw Shikamaru tugging a kunai from the breast of another man. A quick look showed that he has not suffered any major injuries, and a peer with the Byakugen reveals the settling chakra that remains after their fight. More than Neji had expected. Good. With the missing nins now dead, they could return to Konoha.

_To Sasuke. _Neji told himself with a small smile. There was always something gratifying about going home to someone that cared about his well-being, both physical and mental. It was a comfort that Neji allowed himself to have, after outright denying many others. True, Neji did not feel as comfortable living with Sasuke in the Uchiha compound than he would have liked, but he'd seen how attached Sasuke was to the house, and the memories. Neji had thought that staying there would be a truly bad idea. He told Sasuke that, who had merely pointed out he'd lived there all his life, and planned on continuing to do so. Neji silently disagreed with the idea, but kept his thoughts to himself and his wariness for Sasuke's mental well-being carefully hidden.

"Ready to go back?" Shikamaru asked without standing from where he was wiping the bloodied kunai on the damp grass. His gaze shifted to the sky and saw the beginning of dawn edging its' way over the horizon. He sighed, because the dawn reminded him he should be sleeping and not worrying about death and blood stains. He stood and turned to Neji, who was already ready to go with his pack slung over a shoulder and a twitch in his right eye, which told Shikamaru all he needed to know.

Grabbing his already prepared pack he slipped it on and nodded to Neji; as one they leaped up and into the dense trees, nimbly leaping through the foliage, stepping over jutting branches. They stay silent as they make their way back to Konoha, with Neji speeding up until he is almost a blur, and beside him Shikamaru chuckles lowly.

"Honestly Hyuuga, your sexual tension is eating the air." Neji glares darkly at him, but declines comment. After knowing him for so long, Shikamaru knew how to read his glares and when to fear for his life, and this was not one of those times. He simply offered a grin then turned his attention to the thinning forest. Breaking out and travelling at a more sedate pace now that they were in sight of their village, the ground is no longer a blur of brown and green.

At the flash of red Neji stops, and stares at the blood that was stained into the packed dirt, a shaky circle before trailing off into a line that broke up every now and then, but remained steady to the village walls. Shikamaru wonders why Neji is glaring at the trail, his apparent anger mixed with a touch of concern. Dust particles kick at his ankles, and Shikamaru finds himself alone. He blinks the grit from his eyes and heads to the Hokage's Tower, to report on the success of their mission.

Slightly surprised to find Neji there, he says nothing as he sidles in through the half-open door and waits. Neji and Tsunade are already having a conversation that doesn't seem to be boding well for the Hyuuga. Shikamaru thinks that he shouldn't have been surprised to see his teammate there; if nothing else Neji always followed procedure as precisely as he could, so if procedure required talking to the Hokage regardless of the trail of blood, Neji would do so.

"...about three hours ago. Kakashi is with him now," she finished telling Neji. She looked from him to Shikamaru and beckoned him in, sitting behind her desk. There was a large scroll unrolled, the corners curling slightly as the dampness of the morning entered the room. Beside her stood Shizune, and he noted that both women looked dead on their feet. He figured whatever the scroll contained must be important to them.

Shikamaru stood beside Neji, bowing his head respectfully and intoning a "Hokage-sama" before meeting her eyes. Beside him he could sense how tense Neji seemed, and he glanced at him before turning his attention to the Hokage. She sighed and rubbed at her eyes, looking the epitome of exhaustion.

"Nara, would you mind filling me in as to the details about your mission? It seems Hyuuga has a severely limited mental capacity when his house mate is involved."

_Sexual tension, _Shikamaru told himself, and sighed at the distant look in Neji's eyes. Not that it was easy to see, what with the issue of no pupils, but after working side by side for over one year, he'd learned to pick up on the subtle changes. _The worst thing she could have done was mention Uchiha's name in any way, shape, or form._

"Yes, Hokage-sama. We successfully eliminated the missing nins which we located on the outskirts of Wave country, about two miles out. It was a standard mission." Shikamaru concluded with a shrug, noticing that Neji said nothing, and instead stood rigid and stiff, as if he couldn't wait to leave the office. Tsunade saw this also, and she sighed and waved Neji away.

"Obviously you won't believe me until you see him. Go. And Neji", she added even as he turned away, "hand in your missions report with Kakashi. Tell him he needs to be here at noon. And I _mean noon. _Give this to him, would you?" Ahh yes, Kakashi with his chronic lateness. Neji nodded once and caught a small black oval that she'd tossed to him, and was out the door before she could blink.

"I'll have your report later then," Tsunade told Shikamaru. He began to nod but a huge yawn deterred his action, and he quickly covered his mouth and fought to keep his eyes open. The Hokage shook her head at him in slight amusement.

"Unfortunately for you, I have one request before you turn in for the rest of the night. If you would be so kind as to deliver these," here Shizune came forward and handed small black talisman to Shikamaru, like the one given to Neji,"to Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, uhh...oh, just take this list and give one to everyone on it, hmm? Except Kakashi, Neji has one for him."

Shikamaru cried in his head as he took the extensive list that wasn't juggling the talisman and he prepared himself for a boring task. He was not up for this, but one look at the threat hidden behind the Hokage's smile told him he better just shut up and get it over with.

_Geez, _he thought to himself as he left with the list that contained every Jounin, some Chuunin and the ANBU teams names'. _These sennin can be really intimidating when they want to be. _

-

Neji tried to go home at a pace that did not seem rushed or worried. After about five seconds he thought _to hell with this _and arrived at the Uchiha compound in a matter of eight point seven seconds. Record time, considering he was a bit tired from his mission. Coming to the front gates he saw, on his left, dried blood that had dripped down from the top of the wall and looked like a stroke of red paint made with a clumsy hand and large paint brush.

He fought down the panic that threatened to rise and overcome by sternly reminding himself that the Hokage had said Sasuke would be fine, not to mention Kakashi was with him. Making his way through the empty neighbourhood that he never really felt comfortable in, Neji went over what Tsunade had told him. Wondered who had managed to wound Sasuke so badly, because ever since his return from Orochimaru, not many shinobi of any rank could lay a finger on him. This was what worried Neji.

_Maybe he ran into Orochimaru or a Sound nin, _Neji considered the possibility. _Who else is there that I can think of? _

Even as he thought, the answer came to him : _Itachi. _Neji didn't like this thought because it entailed many things, one of which was Sasuke was sure to fly off the handle at the mention of his brother. Itachi was a taboo subject where Sasuke was concerned; and probably the only thing that made Neji sometimes doubt his sanity. His brother was the reason he'd left Konoha four years ago, and he was the reason that Sasuke was so power-hungry, and he was the reason Sasuke went, put simply, insane when he was even hinted at. Not to mention that he was the reason Sasuke had such a poor excuse for a childhood and early teen years.

Then again, Itachi was the reason Sasuke and Neji came together. Who knew that the two of them were so similar and yet so contrasting that it was just obvious they were meant for each other? Who could have guessed that both of them were attracted by the bits of themselves they saw in each other, and yet the main pull was the little variations in their life? Itachi to Sasuke is the forehead mark to Neji. Both represented something that would control their lives, something that neither of them could get rid of.

Neji was relieved to see the main house rise up before him, its' angled and raised roof peaks calling attention to it. He walked past the small garden inlaid with large flat stones on his way up the three stairs to the heavy wood front door. Open the door, step in, turn and close it while slipping off his sandals. He breathed in the scent, the one that was just so uniquely home that he always smiled at it, a smell of laundry detergent and beef and oak and apples.

Sasuke smelled like that too, Neji told himself as he laid his pack near the front door. When they were away from home for days and weeks at a time, he would catch a whiff of Sasuke, warm beside him, and be pleasantly reminded of their home, their living room, their kitchen, washroom, bedroom.

_Speaking of..._Neji began down the hallway to their bedroom, walking past the many doors and open rooms lining the hall on either side of him, wanting to see Sasuke now, to see for himself that he was indeed all right. Of course he trusted the Hokage's word, but there had been an unsettled feeling in his stomach all the way here, ever since he saw the blood and known whose it was.

He would've walked straight past the kitchen if he hadn't felt the low flare of chakra on his right. Instead he turned in there and saw Sasuke sitting at the small round table, an empty water bottle in front of him, and a tired-looking Jounin across from him. Kakashi glanced up when Neji entered but said nothing, choosing to nod once then stand. Sasuke stayed where he was, digging a blunt thumbnail into the grains swirling through the wooden table.

Kakashi moved past him then, and Neji remembered what Tsunade had told him. He took the smooth oval from his pocket and pressed it into Kakashi's hand as he passed. Kakashi blinked and glanced down at it, and Neji saw his eye narrow before asking what time.

"Noon," Neji told him, and he nodded again, and with a light wave went down the hall, the front door clicking open and closed softly. Neji moved into the kitchen, washing his dirtied hands in the sink and drying them with a paper towel. Sat down by the silent Sasuke, who was still intent on tracing his nail deeper into the table, and not paying any attention to Neji, or so he thought.

Five minutes of silence before Sasuke spoke up, as the sun began to shine through the window and into the chrome sink, creating a blinding glare that reflected off various shiny surfaces around the room.

"How did it go?" Mission talk, a safe topic that revealed nothing too personal or serious, required no emotional involvement in any way, therefore a relatively calm and uncaring one. Neji recognized this deflection tactic but said nothing about it.

"Fine. Only two missing nins, didn't stand a chance. Shikamaru's improved a lot over the weeks." They had been easy kills, and the bloodline limit that was supposedly present in both hadn't made an appearance. He wondered vaguely why the Hokage thought it imperative to send two Jounin-level shinobi to do the job. He figured she had her reasons and left it at that. He saw the bandages wrapped around Sasuke's midriff, from hip to just under his arms, and couldn't help the worried frown. That was a rather nasty cut. Or whatever had split him open like that.

"Neji...you killed them, right?"

Neji nodded slowly, averting his eyes from the wound and instead looking up at Sasuke, who remained staring intently at the table. He didn't have to wait long before Sasuke spoke again.

"Did you...hate them?" Distant stare into the tabletop told Neji nothing of what Sasuke might be thinking, or hoping to gain by asking these questions.

"Did I...hate them?" he repeated. He'd heard Sasuke the first time, but...this was not a question he had been expecting. And, in all truth and honesty, he didn't think he could answer.

"Yes...did you want to see them dead? Were you sick just by looking at them?" Before Neji could answer Sasuke had turned to face him. "Is that what we need? To kill, does it help if we hate? Because then, it might be easier. But, on missions, we just kill the people we were told to, but we've never seen them before, so how can we hate them?"

He blew out an angry breath, contemplative frown on his face as he faced the table once again. "I don't think, even as shinobi, we can just hate for no reason, right? Because you can't hate someone you've never heard of, can you. Maybe if you had a previous relationship with them you could, because you'd know what kind of person they were. So you could hate them for their flaws. But" here Sasuke brought his thumb to his mouth and chewed it "maybe if you loved someone, your feelings could turn to hate. That happens right? Love becomes hate?"

Neji barely had time to answer "Sometimes, yes," before Sasuke was plowing ahead with his train of thought.

"Well...what happens when your hate that used to be love becomes love again? And you hate it, because you know it's wrong, just really wrong, but you can't help it and then the hate that was love and is love again sickens you. And it stops you, holds you back..."Sasuke sighed and looked down, allowing his hair to fall forward and shield his eyes. "It's true then, I guess. Love does make you weak."

"No it doesn't." Neji was quick to answer. He didn't like what Sasuke was saying, afraid of where it might lead. "Love can make you strong, it can make you realize things you never knew before. Like how to be happy with nothing but one person in the world with you. It makes your heart strong–"

"Only so it can pump your blood out faster once it's been torn up and brought down by _love_," Sasuke spat, his tone venomous and laced with disdain around that last word. He abruptly shoved his chair back and stood before Neji could answer. "Love does make you weak, because it holds you back and prevents you from doing things, things that are important and need to be done but you can't do them, because your 'strong heart' is too busy bleeding all over the place and it won't let you do a thing! So then when the perfect opportunity comes up, you just completely fuck it up because you're too busy remembering with your stupid _heart _about the love that was hate that was love and then you're royally screwed and your whole life is just wasted. A complete and utter waste. So...love makes you weak."

They both sat and stood in silence following Sasuke's rant that seemed to leave him slightly short of breath, angry, short pants breaking through the quiet of the room. Then:

"Do I make you weak, Sasuke?" The soft inquiry seemed to echo around the room, seeping in through the floorboards to be held forevermore and always heard, even when forgotten. And Sasuke stared at Neji, who was watching in silence, waiting for his answer, with a controlled nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach, even as he stared Sasuke down, for he had stood up during Sasuke's rant and now stood at his full height, just a little taller than the Uchiha.

Sasuke was looking down again, but he pressed his tongue against his incisor, his 'fang tooth', until it stung and he felt the skin rip, and even as he stood there with blood on his tongue and filling up the crevices on his teeth like a pool being filled with water, he felt stupid and angry and embarrassed and like such an idiot. Because of what he'd said to Neji, without really meaning it, because he hadn't meant it about _him, _he had been talking about Itachi. Except now, he hated Neji, for one brief moment, for making him feel this way, so undecided and vulnerable and confused.

He asked himself then, _could I kill Neji right now?_ Looking back up to Neji, and seeing the same person he had fallen in love with, so tall and sure and steady, calm like the sea. Which, Sasuke thought, was an oxymoron. Because the sea is not calm, rather it is unpredictable and rough and always moving and in action, but there are times when it can be as peaceful as a leaf floating to the ground, and those moments are rare and short, but are truly the most desired out of all the tempers of the sea. Yes, Neji was calm like the sea.

_If anyone has to make me weak, I'm glad it's him. _So Sasuke thinks, and because he doesn't know how else to cover up his immaturity and feeling of stupidity he shakes his head and moves forward, wrapping his arms around Neji's waist and tightening his hold, as all of a sudden he is just so relieved to be where he feels most comfortable, so...at home in his home. He likes the irony of it and smiles into Neji's shoulder.

Sasuke sighed as he felt a warm hand trail down his spine, relaxing his tense muscles almost completely. They stood for another moment like that, quietly drinking in each other's presence after their separation. Neji kept his touch gentle as he dragged his fingers over the rough bandages that he decided really didn't belong there. The beige clashed terribly with the milky white skin. They broke apart, and Sasuke tentatively poked at his bandages, and winced as they stung.

"I need a shower," he told Neji as he left the kitchen and padded down the hall. Neji stood for a moment, thinking about everything and nothing. Then he allowed a smile to creep over his face.

"Me too."

-

Shikamaru turned and leapt from the doorway of Asuma's house onto the neighbouring roof. _Finally _he was done. After he'd delivered the small black talisman around as Hokage-sama had asked him to, he decided that he would go home, shower, and sleep for possibly the next two days. Why the hell was he so tired? Just the thought of walking all the way back to his house...he squinted across the street to his place of residence.

_What a long trek..._he thought sadly. He sighed and was about to begin his arduous journey when he felt the slight weight in the pocket of his Jounin vest. Took out one last black oval and narrowed his eyes at it, scolding it for not being able to deliver itself. Shikamaru hefted a huge sigh and dug the list that had seemed never-ending out and peered at the last name.

_Nara Shikamaru_

He now decided that the Fates hated him, and were laughing at his misfortune. Not only did he have to write up his mission report, but he also had to shower and take care of the long yet shallow cut on his thigh. All this after he'd spent over an hour tracking down the Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU teams that had all, in some way or other, been convinced he was an enemy and had eluded him to the best of their abilities. Holy crap he was tired. And now he had to report to the Hokage's office by noon for a meeting, if the neatly written inscription of '_Hokage's Tower, Noon' _on the surface of the talisman in silver was any indication.

Shikamaru sighed again, and stepped off the roof, narrowly avoiding a stray chicken in his path before staggering to his apartment. Stopped at the bottom of the staircase that led up to his front door, and sighed yet again. Why had it taken him so long to notice this flight of stairs was horrendously huge? He wondered briefly if the Hokage would be mad at him for collapsing on his way up and missing the meeting.

He decided that she had no mercy, and resigned himself to the task of putting one foot on front of the other. This would be a long waste of his life.

-

Naruto met up with Sakura as he made his way to the Hokage's office. He'd been surprised to receive one of the summons, as he knew they were only handed out to those that had a serious matter to discuss with the Hokage, or if she had some mission that was insanely difficult.

Naruto, being the naive fool that he was, had gloated to Sakura that he had been chosen for one such mission, the pride he felt only outdone by the excitement at what the details of the mission would entail. His tirade had gone on for quite some time before Sakura had told him to shut up, because she and just about every other shinobi (excluding the genin) in Konoha had received one. This had deterred him only for a moment, brain working furiously fast to come up with a logical solution.

He'd grasped onto the fact that his talisman was shinier than hers, and if he tilted it to the left and held it at a certain angle perpendicular to Sakura's, it also looked bigger. Naruto had decided that this meant that he was probably going to be chosen to lead all of Konoha on a super dangerous mission.

He quickly shut up when he saw Kakashi heading their way, as well as Ino, Kiba, Asuma, Anko, and just about every other ninja that outranked him, if not in status, then in strategical thinking.

So it was a more sedate Naruto that walked with Sakura and other shinobi en masse to the Tower. As he walked he looked through the crowd for either one of his two favourite black haired pale kids that he'd grown so accustomed to seeing together, and was mildly surprised that he could not find Neji or Sasuke.

"Ehhh, Sakura-chan? Where do you think 'joined at the hip' are?" Sakura gave him a disapproving look that clearly told him she did not have any idea who he was talking about.

"All right, all right. Where do you think Sasuke and Neji are?" He edited his question for her benefit even as he craned his neck to glance over the massive form that was Shino, who had, rather unexpectedly, had a growth spurt that left him towering over the rest of the citizens of Konoha.

Sakura shrugged as she glanced around as well. "I don't know Naruto. I think they both had missions a few days ago ,though, so maybe they aren't back yet. Or they're just resting up after their missions." _Or maybe they're too busy getting re-acquainted_ _after the time they spent away from each other... _

She quickly snapped out of her dream-worthy reverie when they came upon the Hokage's tower. She had been spending too much time with boys lately, she decided as she fought to keep down a blush as she made her way up the stairs. She would need to grab Hinata, Ino and TenTen for a girl's night, if only to escape the lewd species that was _male. _

Then they were all filing into Tsunade's office, low murmurs accompanied by occasional puffs of smoke as some ANBU decided to teleport in, instead of fighting their way through the crowd at the door. Inside, Shizune stood next to the large wood desk that Tsunade stood in front of, leaning back slightly as she waited for her (note the proudness of her possession) ninja to settle in. Then she grew impatient with waiting, so with a blast of air that reminded everyone very much like an angry bull challenging a hapless matador to battle, they all fell into respectful silence.

Tsunade waited until Asuma seated himself before addressing the gathered Konoha shinobi.

"As you all know by now, Orochimaru has been planning on revenge on Konoha on account of the fact he lost his vessel to us. It seems as though he's gotten a new vessel that will tide him over for the next two years, but we can assume he still wants the Sharingan. We have recovered a scroll that appears to be what you could call a back-up plan if his Body Switch technique failed, which it did.

"It seems as though he is beginning to move into action. We've had reports that he had moved from Sound with a little entourage, including Kabuto and about four others that remain unidentified." She moved to the side of her desk and allowed them a clear look at the scroll unrolled there.

On it in black ink was drawn the seals that both Sasuke and Anko bore. Beside it was neat writing that dictated what Tsunade spoke about.

"Orochimaru has a jutsu that is specifically made for activation of these seals. Keep in mind this is just a copy of the real ones. On his person (though he's not much of a person) at all times he carries two scrolls, and each holds the seal much like this one, though it is drawn in the blood of the one who has the seal. In this case, it is the Uchiha's and Anko's,"she nodded toward the woman who stood near the back of the room.

"When he so chooses, he can cause these seals to react, and in doing so more or less controls the actions of the one he has marked. This is his 'Curse Summoning Jutsu'. From what I've gathered, he can't do this from a great distance, say Konoha and Sound. Last we heard, he had left Sound yesterday, placing him outside the borders of Fire as of this morning, if he were to take the direct route. If that's the case, he will reach Konoha in a matter of days if this is his destination.

"The Curse Summoning Jutsu is just that; Orochimaru can summon the chakra infused by his curse seal and force it to become active. What control either Anko or Uchiha have over their seals now will be rendered useless, because on the scrolls he has, their blood is on them and cannot be reversed simply, if at all.

"For now, all I can suggest is the daring tactic of 'wait and see', if he does choose to use this jutsu. The only ones who can tell us that are Anko and Uchiha."

Anko found herself the center of attention as the Hokage finished. She shrugged and fought the urge to rub at the curse seal which was pulsating lightly, wondering why Uchiha wasn't here to share the burning looks.

"It hasn't been 'active' or anything, if that's what you mean," she offered. "Just...little twinges every now and then."

"Are there any specific times it reacts, Anko?" Tsunade wanted to know, watching the uncomfortable Jounin that was the focus of the shinobi's looks. Anko shrugged her unmarked shoulder again.

"Not really, Hokage-sama. If I've been training a lot and using my chakra extensively, or any jutsu that Orochimaru showed me, then it burns a bit. Nothing serious, though," she added as an afterthought. Tsunade nodded once, then scanned the group for...

"Kakashi. What about Uchiha?" Kakashi glanced over from where he'd been staring at Gai's bowl cut. He really did need some tips on hair care...

"Has he, to the best of your knowledge, been experiencing any of these 'symptoms' as described by Anko?" She elaborated for him. He scratched at the back of his neck as he thought.

"Well, I can't really tell with him, Hokage-sama," he admitted sheepishly. "I don't think so, as he hasn't really changed in any major ways since he's been back, but he underwent a major attitude adjustment in those years, so..."

Seeing her frustrated frown he added," It's not like he would say anything if that did happen. Sasuke's not exactly what you'd call 'social'". Pause. "I don't think that even a direct order from you would yield results, Hokage-sama. No disrespect intended." Bright smile. Oh right, the face mask...happy eye arc.

_Slam. _Hands down on the desk, careful to avoid the scroll.

"Well he's going to have to learn to share, that little brat, because this whole damn situation doesn't affect him alone," Tsunade spat, her rising temper finally getting the better of her. "I don't know what the hell Orochimaru is planning; I don't understand him and I don't pretend to. All I know is that he is a very real threat to us right now, and we need to figure out what he plans as soon as we can."

"Hmmm...Tsunade-sama?" Oh good, Naruto had remembered his manners for once, although she wouldn't kid herself and knew that it was only for the benefit of the others that were present. "Sasuke wouldn't exactly be open about his curse seal, but I do know that with something this serious, he wouldn't stay quiet about it either. It's just a matter of asking the right person what he thinks."

"And I assume you mean yourself to be the right person?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow. Naruto shook his head vehemently.

"No chance. The only time he talks to me is to insult me after I've so graciously kicked his ass. I meant Hyuuga Neji. They are living together and are...err...close. Ahem."

"Ah, of course. In that case...where is he?" She looked around the room again but could not find Neji. Kakashi raised his hand slightly to draw her attention.

"Hokage-sama? He's with Sasuke at their house. He just got back from his mission a little after dawn, so he's probably there still. If you want, I could bring him here...?"

Tsunade recalled her early morning conversation with Neji, and his reason for wanting to go home so quickly. She shook her head, deciding that he'd be better off staying with Sasuke for now. "No, don't worry about it Kakashi. He'll stay with Sasuke until he's sufficiently healed."

Naruto and Sakura exchanged a look. Sasuke hurt? And badly enough that the Hokage was giving permission to both he and Neji to miss this meeting. They both reached a decision at the same time.

"Hokage-sama? If you'd like, Naruto and I can go over to see Sasuke and Neji later and tell them about what you've told us today," Sakura offered.

"All right, thank you Sakura," Tsunade nodded once. Then she sighed and faced the room at large.

"Now, Shizune and I may have found a way to 'de-activate', if you will, the scrolls that Orochimaru plans on using. Like I said, he has the blood copies, but we have the blood we need in reserves. Meaning Anko and Sasuke. I believe we can do a temporary jutsu that will render his scrolls useless. What I need is blood, enough to draw these seals "she waved at the scroll in front of her "from both Sasuke and Anko. I figure if we do this, we'll be able to hold the curse seals at bay long enough for Orochimaru to try some desperate ploy that will screw him over.

"In the meantime, I must ask you, Anko, to please refrain from using any jutsu Orochimaru taught you, and practice all the control you have over the curse seal until we try this plan. Naruto and Sakura, you tell the same to Uchiha, all right? And I need both Anko and him to understand that they are not to be left alone. This means both of you will be put off missions until further notice. Like I said, I don't know when Orochimaru plans to use his Curse Summoning but it can't happen when you two are alone. I don't know how badly it could affect either of you.

"So, I need Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi to kindly make sure that Uchiha is not left alone until we have tried out our plan. Anko, I trust you'll find an appropriate person to accompany you until we do this. I know Uchiha is a prideful bastard so don't let on that the three of you are more or less guarding him. I'm sending out some ANBU teams to determine the location of Orochimaru and keep us up to date; you know who you are. All right, then." Tsunade finished and began to roll up the scroll. Glanced up and saw she was still being regarded in silence.

"What are you waiting for? Get the hell out!" Her words worked like a charm as the shinobi alternately teleported out or leapt from the windows, or just plain ran out the door. "Anko! Just a minute please. And you" she told the former Team 7.

"Tomorrow I'll need you back here, Anko. We'll take some blood and try to work this jutsu. You three, make sure Uchiha has taken the medication he has to replenish his blood. I don't want him passing out in the middle of the procedure. And it is imperative neither of you use your chakra foolishly, and do not, by any means, play around with anything _he _taught you." Affirmative nods all around, and the Hokage waved them away.

Tsunade sighed as she sat down in her chair. Closing her eyes she rubbed vigorously at her eyelids. Her old teammate was proving to be much more trouble than he was worth, she decided.

-

Sasuke pulled his long-sleeved black shirt over his head, carefully arranging it over his fresh bandages. He shook his head in an effort to get rid of the clinging water drops on his hair. That had been exactly what he needed, a nice, relaxing shower with Neji. It always seemed to lift his spirits...among other things.

He and Neji had given up on sleep and decided instead to do some light training. It had been too long for both their tastes since the Sharingan went head to head with the Byakugen. Now Sasuke left their bedroom and sat in the front room, waiting for Neji who was most likely spending his insane amount of time fixing his hair after their shower. Who could have guessed Hyuuga Neji was as vain as he was? Probably another reason they went so well together.

Sasuke sighed as he leant back and rested his head on the back of the couch, ignoring the dampness that spread from his wet hair. He recognized the three chakras that were speeding towards his house, and he felt nervous and anxious and truly angry all at once. He did not want to have to deal with his old team right now, especially not when he had just failed to do what they had to listen to for so long, when way back when he had solemnly stated he would kill 'that man'.

He sat up and watched Neji come into the room, their usual sparring weapons ready at his side, and he quickly judged the distance between his house and the training grounds, and tried to figure out if they could make it there before his team arrived. If they were to teleport, because he knew he was in no condition to make a mad dash at the moment.

Sasuke stood and said to Neji, "Let's go," but before he could begin the seals needed Neji caught his wrist and told him what he already knew, that Team 7 was making their way over and they should wait for them. Sasuke sighed and glared and grit his teeth, making Neji realize all too late that he didn't want to see them right now, but there was nothing they could do because there was a loud bang at the front door.

A second later Naruto was bursting through the door, his impatient attitude getting the better of him, followed by Sakura who was dividing her time between apologizing and berating Naruto for being so rude, and Kakashi who looked half asleep as he wandered in.

"Hey! You two missed the big meeting with the Hokage! Everybody was there, even the weird spandex guys, and we learned a lot about everything, and now you two don't know as much as _me, _so I guess this just shows whose smarter now, right? And _what the hell happened to you?_" Naruto finished when he saw the bandages wrapped around Sasuke dipping out beneath his shirt.

"The Hokage said something happened but man! I mean, come on Sasuke, how weak were you to let that happen? You better have killed whatever bastard did that, 'cause if not then I've lost all respect for you! Not that there was much to begin with, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

"_Naruto! _Let Sasuke answer, will you? One thing at a time," Sakura admonished. She turned and bowed her head to Neji. "Good afternoon, Neji-san. I'm sorry for barging in like this. Oh. Were you going somewhere?" She noticed Sasuke and Neji's full sparring attire.

"No problem, Sakura. Yes, Sasuke and I were just going to do some training–"

"Whoa, you were going to go fight with Sasuke looking like that?" Naruto demanded, eyebrows raised. "Come on, Neji! Be a better boyfriend and take care of him, don't go beating the life out of him!"

"Naruto. We do have a reason for coming here, remember?" Kakashi broke in finally. He didn't think it was such a good idea for Naruto to bring up Sasuke's condition when he was looking so frustrated already.

"Ohh right. Sakura, you tell them, I can't really remember everything plus I'm wiped from beating you here." With that Naruto flopped down on the couch Sasuke had recently vacated, spreading out as much as he could. Sakura gave him an annoyed look as she filled Sasuke and Neji in on what the meeting with Tsunade entailed. By the end, Sasuke was more annoyed than he had been, and Neji was, in his usual stoic way, contemplating just what it all meant, face unreadable.

"And the Hokage wants you at her office tomorrow, Sasuke, so she can try the jutsu with your blood. She figures it will stop whatever Orochimaru is planning."

"She won't be able to," Sasuke said in a low voice after silence reigned for a minute. "I remember when...when he had me use my blood on his scroll. He said it was going to make the seal easier to use the way I wanted. He kept a vial of my blood and if he ever put some on the scroll, the curse seal would react and..."he trailed off and shrugged a shoulder. "She won't be able to stop it."

"Well not if you're projecting such a negative image she won't," Naruto retorted from where he had sat up on the couch. "She's the Hokage, and she may be super old, but she does know what she's doing."

"That doesn't matter, idiot. It wad drawn in blood. That's the most powerful sealing you could use. Adding more of it won't stop anything; it'll probably just increase the chances of whatever Orochimaru plans on doing to a higher success rate."

"You can tell the Hokage that tomorrow, then, Sasuke," Neji told him. "Meanwhile, we should consider putting off training until then."

Sasuke gave Neji a disgusted look. "I won't go crazy or anything, you know. I know when the curse seal is going to act up and I can stop it until it does. It was only fully active when I–" Sasuke cut himself off abruptly.

_When I was fighting Itachi, _he finished silently in his head. He knew that the others knew what he meant when he said 'fully active'. When his wings ripped through his back and, make no mistake, hurt every time, and he had claws and all semblance of his self was lost.

"When was it last active like that, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked then. He had a pretty good idea about when, but he wanted to know who it was that had forced Sasuke to draw on the seal's power. "The more recent it was then the Hokage will need to know about it."

_You don't need to tell him who it was used against, just when. Relax. _

"This morning, on my way back, so at about...two hours before dawn." Sasuke couldn't believe that less than twelve hours ago he had been fighting Itachi, living up to his Avenger name until _poof_, it all went down the drain and the Uchiha murders would never mean anything.

_Because I love him. _He reminded himself scathingly. He hadn't realized until it was too late how weak he'd grown. It was pathetic, really.

"Really?" Naruto had sat up and was leaning over the back of the couch, looking at Sasuke. "Who'd you use that against?"

"..." Sasuke didn't answer, instead opting to glare at the couch Naruto was sprawled along as he continued to push.

"I mean, they're dead now, right? I don't think that anyone can survive an attack when you're in that level two, can they?" Naruto sensed the tension and was quick to add, "I bet whoever attacked you sure is sorry now, eh? What with being dead and all. But who was it? Obviously someone pretty powerful if you needed to use that. Heh, and here I thought I was your strongest opponent. Seriously though, was it a Sound nin or something? Nah, those guys are major weak, you could take them easy. Hmm..."

Sasuke felt his anger growing with each guess Naruto made, as he tossed out random names and reasons why Sasuke could or could not kill them easily, and all the while he wanted but didn't want Naruto to correctly guess. He couldn't concentrate enough anymore, and there was a whirlwind in his head that spun around one name, over and over until he was sure his head was spinning.

_Itachi Itachi Itachi Itachi Itachi _until he couldn't keep it in any more,

"Itachi."

Naruto fell silent at that, his mouth hanging open in a small 'o' as the name hit home. Sakura bit her lip and cast worried glances his way but said nothing. Neji and Kakashi were both silent as well, waiting, watching, just like they always did.

"It was Itachi, Naruto," Sasuke said in a flat voice. "I met him on my way back so of course I had to fight him, and of course I had to use my seal just to keep up with him."

"S-so did you...kill him?" Naruto spoke in a hushed voice, as though he were listening to a story and didn't want the ending to be interrupted. And Sasuke gave the low laugh that Kakashi recognized from earlier that morning, when he'd found Sasuke tearing up the room.

_Itachi's room..._he realized now, and sighed.

"No." Sasuke's tone was low and hateful now, his fists clenched at his sides but his face blank. "I didn't kill him, but I could have. I didn't, because I was stupid enough to think I would be able to. But of course I _can't, _because he's _Aniki _and I still–" he stopped and sucked in a sharp breath, then shook his head.

The rest of them were silent, unsure of what to say, how to act, or if they should do anything at all. It was only when Naruto said his name that Sasuke reacted.

"_Don't. _Naruto, just...don't." Without looking at any of them he formed the seals and teleported away, a small cloud appearing briefly.

"I didn't mean..."Naruto stopped, unsuccessfully trying to explain himself, but Neji stopped him.

"He doesn't blame you, Naruto. I don't believe he is ready to talk about this yet." Neji said without hostility. In all fairness, they were all surprised to learn this, that Sasuke hadn't killed Itachi, and suddenly the questions Sasuke had asked Neji earlier made sense.

_I don't know, Sasuke. I don't know if you'll ever be able to turn your feelings for your brother back into hate. But I do know there's no point or logic in trying to force yourself to feel something that does not exist any longer._

-

Sasuke sat above the training ground he and Neji had been about to come to, near the top of the tree, leg hanging over the branch he sat on. Angry with himself for telling them what he didn't want them to know, relieved that they knew it, and sick of feeling the way he did. And this was only day one.

How, he wondered to himself, could he be expected to carry on acting like Itachi no longer mattered to him? He had been Sasuke's main reason to live, to continue to exist. Now, what was there? Sasuke realized that, by failing to kill Itachi, then his betrayal of Konoha, his time spent at Sound, training under Orochimaru for nearly three full years, his attempt to kill Naruto which he just could not get out of his head...all of this, a waste. Because Sasuke's heart had to wake up, and his conscience had to kick in, and decide that Itachi was blood, and it would not be that simple to kill him.

Not to mention the fact that Orochimaru was trying some major plan, again, and this was sure to disrupt the relatively peaceful time Sasuke had spent in Konoha for the past year. Either Orochimaru was one year too late for his Body Switch, or two years too early. So now Sasuke could not be himself as he wanted to be, had to severely limit the use of his chakra, and not use any of the jutsu the snake sennin had taught him, and be extra cautious with the curse seal. Add that all to the mess with his brother, and he was officially confused, dazed, enraged, and miserable. Because now, he had no purpose.

_So what do I do now? _He asked himself. _I can't hate Itachi enough anymore, but I can't love him enough to let him live for what he did. Then again, he might be dead already...I'll need to find out. Maybe I can casually wander into the Akatsuki lair and inquire on his condition. _Sasuke sighed, thoroughly frustrated, and his feeling only increased when he felt someone approaching him.

Sasuke felt the slightly familiar chakra flare and sighed to himself, trying to figure out who it belonged to. There was a feeling that came with it, one that told him this was an enemy, and he better get off his ass and deal with it. So when he felt the air break with the force of a kunai hurled at him, he re-appeared seconds later behind the one who had thrown the weapon, which now lay embedded deep in the tree trunk.

The Akatsuki cloak flared out with the strong breeze, and the man gave a low chuckle.

"I expected as much from you, Sasuke." He turned around and Sasuke found himself face to face with his brother's partner, Hoshigaki Kisame. Sasuke stared impatiently at the shark man but said nothing. He knew he'd recognized that chakra, though it had been a few years since he'd felt it. Instead he had the Sharingan bleed into his eyes, and waited.

"Ah ah ah, no fighting now. I have an offer for you, direct from our leader to you," Kisame told him with a toothy grin. He reached under his cloak and tossed a small object to Sasuke, who caught it and looked down at it, careful not to let the other man out of his sight.

Sasuke immediately recognized it as the ring he had seen Itachi wearing in every last one of their encounters for the past nine years. It had always been on Itachi's right ring finger, as though an extended part of bone that pushed it's way through his skin. But what did it mean, Kisame giving it to him?

Kisame nodded, eyes on the ring. "That's yours now, if you want it. It seems as though Itachi has no use for it anymore. Doesn't mean he's dead," he added, seeing Sasuke's look. "We don't take kindly to failures in Akatsuki."

Before Sasuke could answer, Kisame went on. "I kind of liked having an Uchiha as my partner. I look forward to that continued alliance." He smirked and added, "Think on it Sasuke. Until next time, then." And just as soon as he'd appeared, Kisame was gone, no traces evident that he was ever there.

Sasuke glared down at the ring and allowed his eyes to return from the Sharingan. What the hell was that? Him, join Akatsuki? That would mean turn his back on Konoha, _again, _and try to kill Naruto, _again, _to try to obtain the Kyuubi. It was so far-fetched, he decided, that he wouldn't even think on it. Because it was out of the question, even the possibility of him joining Akatsuki. To succeed his brother...that actually sounded rather appealing, he realized.

Before he could dwell anymore on this new concept, he shoved the ring deep into his pocket as Neji appeared behind him. Neither of them said anything, both facing south as they stood in silence. Then Sasuke felt a warm grip around his waist, and he was pulled back until he was resting against Neji's chest. He closed his eyes and revelled in the moment, taking in the scent and the sound of Neji's steady heartbeat through his shirt.

_This, _Sasuke thought, _is okay. I'm fine right now like this. I don't need the Akatsuki, because I won't leave Neji. I don't need to. Damn Itachi to hell. I don't care if I ever see him again. _

After a minute Sasuke leaned forward, and he was released. He put some distance between Neji and himself, then turned and faced him with a grim smile. Time to ignore and push past all the mingling thoughts that were jumbling together and creating a deafening roar in his head; sparring with Neji always made him forget everything but the Here and Now. Nothing else mattered as they worked through their usual routine. So, looking forward to the familiar comfort that was sure to come, Sasuke nodded once at Neji.

"Let's train."

-

-

-

I think you should know that I have very limited experience writing in this fandom. I've never seen or read in the series up past the Chuunin exams yet, so characterizations for Akatsuki in particular will be off, probably.

What a long chapter. I admit it was confusing, so anything you don't understand, just ask and I'll explain to the best of my ability. School starts in three days, September 4th, so updates after this will be sporadic and less frequent.

Also, today is my birthday, so if you'd like to give a gift, leave a review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ode to An Avenger**

**-**

**4**

**-**

Drip the blood slowly onto the scroll. Let it settle over the seals drawn there, in blood (so much blood) and see it darken, on the scroll, as it is accepted and enhanced and powered, blood by blood. Open the next scroll, take up the next container of blood, and repeat the same procedure for Anko's scroll.

Kabuto watched silently as Orochimaru went through the process of his 'Curse Summoning' jutsu. The sennin actually looked pleased, borderline happy, a small smile playing around the edge of his mouth. For him, this was extreme giddiness. But Kabuto said nothing, instead turning to make sure their genjutsu was still strong (it was) and making sure there was nothing going on that shouldn't be (there wasn't).

"Am I boring you, Kabuto?" Low voice, tone giving nothing away. Kabuto turned back to see Orochimaru sitting back on his heels, the two scrolls in front of him dark and soaked with blood. Kabuto shook his head.

"Of course not, Orochimaru-sama," he replied, mentally reminding himself _Don't give a reason unless he asks; that shows you have a guilty conscience._

Orochimaru said nothing, instead standing and facing due south, the direction Konoha lay in, far enough that they still could not see it, but close enough that he could taste his victory. He smirked and brought his bloodied fingers up to his mouth, tongue dipping out to lick off the red spots. He sighed at the familiar taste of Sasuke and Anko's blood, regretfully pulling his tongue back in and drying his hand on his robe.

"It's all up to Tsunade now," Orochimaru said quietly, eyes slitted and glowing yellow in the twilight around them. For once, he was oh so grateful for his old teammate's saviour complex, and what she considered 'vast knowledge' of his work. That, he knew, would prove to be her downfall, and his triumph.

It was all a matter of time.

* * *

He pushed off of Neji's knees, flipping to a safe distance away. They both stood, taking in the other's appearance and silently agreeing to call an end to their long training session. Since Neji had come, Sasuke had thrown himself into their fights, never leaving a moment to just stop and breathe. Which made Neji pleased, and he returned the favour with great enthusiasm, deciding to ignore the fact that Sasuke's eyes were wild, and his moves were more vicious and accurate, and that he seemed to be fighting someone else.

When they were done, panting slightly, Sharingan and Byakugen dissipating from their eyes, they were both pleased at the feeling each held in their cores, the feeling of accomplishment, and respect, and quiet joy. Other couples may express their love for each other by hanging onto each other, or spending every single second together, or molesting each other in public or private; but for Neji and Sasuke, being able to test their strengths and weaknesses against each other, they bonded and connected more closely than they could if they were to ravage each other at home.

Which, once they went home and showered, would do, but they had some semblance of restraint while they did so, and therefore preserved their dignity and self-respect. Both of which they held very dear, alongside their pride and tact. They were living examples of the perfect gentleman, only downside being they murdered as a way of life and this, for some reason, out-weighed their redeeming qualities.

Sasuke tensed his muscles in his arms, trying to get the rubbery feeling out and shake away the loose sensation. He saw Neji discreetly wiping the blood from the small cut Sasuke had managed to mar his chin with when he'd caught him in a genjutsu. Sasuke decided he liked his eyes for giving him advantages. He also decided that he would not dwell on anything that had happened before this training session. What he had done –or hadn't done– could not be changed, or remedied. Worrying over what might happen in near future did nothing but make his heart work harder to keep him alive, stressing him out, so he ignored all of these things and focused his attention on his boyfriend standing so unaware in front of him.

Neji looked up when he felt Sasuke coming closer but said nothing. He could taste blood in his mouth where the hilt of a kunai had smacked into his cheekbone and was consequently bruising noticeably. A cool hand reached up and traced a pattern over the dark brown spot, softly so as not to hurt it. Deep black eyes were watching the progress of the hand carefully, but no regret was seen in them. That was good, that was what Neji and Sasuke always agreed on: never hurt one another to the point of regret. They never did.

Neji turned toward the touch, and then warm lips were on his, enveloping them completely and sucking lightly. He pushed his tongue out and it was met with another, which subsequently pushed his own back in his mouth and followed it, to explore the already discovered crevices and delve deep into the warm wet cavern. He wrapped an arm around Sasuke's waist and pulled him closer, felt the tongue slide over his back teeth and he shivered lightly, because his teeth had always and would always be his most sensitive spot. He knew Sasuke knew this, and he used it to his full advantage whenever he could.

Sasuke smirked into the kiss when he felt the arm around his waist tighten and the soft gasp as he ran his tongue over Neji's teeth. They broke apart, only for a moment, long enough to breathe and then come back together, lips hot and wet and running over each other. Somewhere in the back of his mind Sasuke realized that he had lost control of this kiss, and Neji was leading it, but he was only too happy to go with the flow.

There was a burning heat that travelled through his body; coursing inside and out, like liquid fire that had been sprayed out and was making its' presence known all throughout him, and Sasuke welcomed it, loving how he felt, powerful and vibrant and wholly pleased with it. Until he noticed that the heat was hurting, and it now felt more like an iron vice held over flames was being wrapped around his whole body and squeezing the breath out of him, and it hurt and burned everywhere and all he could think was _what the hell? _before he wrenched his way free from Neji's grip, knowing it would be wise to just move.

"Sasuke, what–" Neji's question was cut off as he stared, clearly not expecting to see what was so blatantly staring him in the face. Sasuke, covered with the curse seal, that ran rampant over his body like wisps of smoke that was caressing him, spreading out and burning itself into every inch of flesh that Neji could see.

Sasuke stood back from him, fists clenched at his sides, eyes shut and teeth gritting, in an effort to fight down the seal. His breathing quickened even as he felt the pain in the crooks of his elbows, and he wondered what the hell was happening and why couldn't he stop it, and he dimly heard Neji. Fingers so tightly pressed into his palms they felt as though they would break, his temples throbbing and lungs aching from the deep breaths he took.

He became aware of cool dirt pressing to his knees and clinging there, and then he was digging his fingers into the soft ground and trying to fight back this damned seal, because it was hurting and he couldn't think or see, even though he knew his eyes were open, just _knew _it, but all he saw was a black haze that threatened to engulf his mind. In his mind he was angrily yelling and cursing, because it should not be this hard to keep down, but all he could manage aloud was a low moan, as the fire ripped and burned into his skin, and sank into his bones, and seeped into his eyes.

A firm grip on his upper left arm and he knew Neji was there, a low humming filling Sasuke's ears as the other spoke to him, but he couldn't make sense of the words so he forced himself to listen, hoping that would help.

"–to me. Sasuke! Can you hear me? Just listen, try to focus."

Panic-induced tones, and Sasuke could hear it all clearly. "I...hear you," he said through gritted teeth. "I–"

He stopped as he felt his chakra tear through his body, as though some unseen force had stuck a straw in him and was sucking it out and distributing it all around him. It pooled in him and flew around him, burning through every fibre of his being and tearing, hurting, burning, and through all this he tried to latch onto the grip on his arm, the steadying voice at his side, but it wasn't helping.

So Sasuke pulled away from Neji, and leapt back, legs and arms shaking like crazy as the seal re-acquainted itself with his body. He forced his eyes to stay open, to see past the hovering darkness, focused on Neji who was standing and looking concerned, even as he moved forward. And just as soon as it started, the pulsing heat stopped, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes so all he could see was Neji, and the heat faded and the pain was very faint, like a gentle nudge at his subconscious.

He can breathe easier now, and he feels the sweat that covers his hands and forehead, but as he glances down he still sees the curse seal spread around his body, still fritzing with chakra, still burning but at a more tolerable pace. Neji moves forward but doesn't come as close as he usually would, instead staring with the Byakugen and frowning at what he saw but saying nothing.

Neji saw the disrupted chakra flow, and he could still feel the air humming with the chakra that seemed to radiate off of Sasuke, and he found himself at a loss as for what he was supposed to do, the first time he had felt like that for many years now. Seeing Sasuke stand there, breathing with shuddering breaths gave him an insight as to what he should do. First: don't panic, he could take control of this situation as well as he'd taken control of that kiss.

"Sasuke? We need to go see the Hokage," Neji said slowly, wondering how much of this Sasuke could hear. He'd seen this change in him before, many times over the years, following the first time he had witnessed it, in the Forest of Death. And it still disturbed Neji to see Sasuke so changed and brimming with a dark aura, and the dark chakra that wrapped around him.

Sasuke looked as though he was about to answer, when he suddenly fell to his knees and toppled forward, landing face down in the moist earth. Unconscious. Even now the seal remained vividly spread across his body, no longer moving but simply staining the white skin.

Neji picked him up, fighting the rising panic. It would be all right, he told himself. He would take Sasuke to see the Hokage, who would use that scroll jutsu to counter the effects of this damn seal, and once that was taken care of, he was taking a leave of absence to murder a certain sennin. Very bloodily.

Just as he turned to depart Naruto landed beside him, eyes wide and hair mussed from the high speeds he had obviously travelled at. He took one look at Sasuke and Neji and gave a quick nod.

"Tsunade said to come right now, the same thing's happened to Anko," Naruto explained as he and Neji leapt into the air and began to make their way over to the Hokage's tower. At the intersection that offered the choice of entering the heart of the town where the tower was located among many buildings, or heading west to the edge of the city, Naruto stopped.

"I need to tell the ANBU..." Neji was already running as soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, intent on getting Sasuke to the Hokage's office. He was worried about Sasuke, who was still and pale in his arms. And he was worried about Anko, because she had gone through the same thing. And he was just plain worried, because it had occurred to him early on that this might be the results of what Orochimaru had planned.

Neji put on a burst of speed when the tower came into view, and he was up the stairs and into the Hokage's office seconds later. He had great motivation.

Inside, he was met with many others there for the same reason: Sakura and Kakashi were there, as well as Shizune, Asuma and Gai standing next to Anko who was in the same situation as Sasuke. Tsunade turned and skipped formalities, instead beckoning Neji forward, to place Sasuke next to Anko on the thick mat on the floor.

The scrolls that Tsunade had spent the better part of the day preparing were finished. The black ink shone wetly in the lighted room, it's characters still fresh. Neji lay Sasuke next to Anko then stepped back to examine the scrolls. Each held an identical mark to the ones that Sasuke and Anko bore, and drawn around were various sealing prayers.

Shizune knelt next to the Hokage, laying flat the scrolls, and pulling out a slim silver blade. Tsunade took the blade and only when she began to cut into Sasuke's left palm did Neji see Anko's left palm, cut very much the way Sasuke's was going to be.

Where finger bone met palm, there were slits, travelling down to the middle of the hand and meeting in a V-shape. Bright red blood had pooled in the center of her palm, and was slowly dripping off the sides of Anko's hand. The same design was being cut into Sasuke's left hand, and Tsunade explained as she worked.

"This is the best way to get the blood out quickly enough so I can work faster, but it also prevents an excess amount of blood from coming." _Plus it leaves kind of cool scars. _She sat back and brought the two scrolls closer, each shining with a replica of Orochimaru's seal. Sasuke's was next to him, likewise for Anko. She kneeled in the middle of the two unconscious shinobi and waved Shizune in.

Taking Anko's hand, Tsunade pressed the bloodied palm flat over the inked seal, Shizune mirroring the action with Sasuke. Written spells cancelled out any spoken, and all in the room waited with bated breath, anxious to see if there would be any positive results.

The seals on the paper spun madly, and the curse marks on their bodies copied, spinning pointlessly until, slowly, they began to retreat to their positions on the shoulder. The sealings written around the marks on the paper dissipated before their eyes, and were absorbed into the cut palms, re-appearing moments later around the marks on Sasuke and Anko's skin.

Tsunade had commissioned Kakashi to perform, to the best of his ability, curse sealing jutsus, on each of the scrolls, because she had explained it would be easier to use. Hopefully.

Now Kakashi peered down at Sasuke and Anko, particularly on their curse marks. He knew how easy it could be for his jutsu to not work, as Sasuke had proven years ago. But he felt more confident this time around. As long as Orochimaru did nothing to further antagonize either seal bearer, he figured they would hold out. He just didn't know for how long. Definitely not indefinitely.

Tsunade sighed and stood after wiping the blood and closing up the cut hands. "To all affects and purposes, this should work. I don't see why it wouldn't, but with him..." she refrained from saying Orochimaru's name. She shrugged.

"Well, you can never tell. I'd say just leave them at home, I've postponed both their missions for a week; we'll see how it is after that. They may need constant reinforcing. Asuma and Neji, you are also excused in order to keep watch for the next week." Neji felt the small smile grow on his face. Oh, how he wished Sasuke would make a quick recovery, even if his hopes were for a different reason than just his health.

"So Asuma will be staying with Uchiha, and Neji with Anko."

_Excuse me?_

Tsunade shook her head at Asuma and Neji's identical surprised and put out looks. "Honestly, you'd think you two would have more tolerance...and senses of humour. Living arrangements will be as usual. Now, Neji, I need to know about the reaction of his seal," Tsunade moved quickly from one topic to the next abruptly enough that Neji needed a moment to register the change.

"We were training out near cell D. Though he didn't use Chidori, just the Sharingan. We were heading back when it activated, and he lost consciousness. I met up with Naruto, and brought him here." Neji decided to keep their after-training activities a secret. Surely that wasn't imperative knowledge.

Tsunade nodded then gestured to Anko. "Anko was with Gai and Asuma at the time, also actively using her chakra, that could be what set them off, but I smell a snake. Did you notice anything...off, I guess, around your training area? Perhaps a certain chakra that doesn't belong here?"

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," Neji frowned, "it must have slipped my mind. There had been someone with him before I came; I could sense them. But whoever it was hadn't done anything, and Sasuke didn't say anything, so I did not question it."

"Any idea who it may have been?" At her prompting Neji cast his mind back to the cool chakra that had seemed to fill the air when he had met Sasuke. It was almost familiar, a tug on his mind that amounted to nothing. He sighed, annoyed with himself for not paying closer attention at the time.

"No. I apologize, but I did not recognize it." Tsunade sighed again, but shook her head after.

"No matter, I suppose. If it was Orochimaru I would have known, so..." she lapsed into a thoughtful silence, mulling over what Neji had told her. Something in her mind clicked, and she cursed her slow reflexes.

"Did you say you met up with Naruto?" Neji looked up from where he had knelt next to Sasuke and nodded slowly, failing to see the reason for the tight look the Hokage's face had taken on. "Shizune, am I crazy, or..."

Shizune frowned also, a puzzled look on her face. "Yes, Tsunade-sama. I thought you had sent Naruto to retrieve Jiraiya-sama from Hidden Rock earlier."

"Did 'Naruto' tell you where he was going, Neji?" Tsunade switched to a crisp manner, looking rather put out. Neji stood and nodded once.

"Yes, he said he had to tell the ANBU..."he trailed off as she turned to Kakashi.

"Would you go to ANBU headquarters and ask if Naruto had been there recently?" Kakashi's answer was a puff of smoke, and he was gone.

Tsunade glared around the room, angry with herself rather than its' occupants. She had a feeling that she–they- had just been had.

* * *

Orochimaru waved Kabuto away, more pleased than he'd been for years. Kabuto, who still wore the henge that had allowed him to assure that the beginnings of his plan had worked. And it had. So he was winning.

He'd always considered himself to be more attuned with his mental abilities, figuring that while others, like Tsunade, focussed more on strength of body rather than mind, his strategical enhancement had not gone unnoticed. If he knew his old teammate, which he did, she would have tried using the scrolls that Sasuke had delivered. Now he'd sent one of his best into her village, and found out what he'd wanted to know, and she was none the wiser.

Orochimaru felt a proud smile creep over his face. Sasuke had, unwittingly, brought the very tool of Konoha's downfall straight to the one who would make it all possible. He would bide his time, allow tem to fall into a false and shaky sense of security. When they least expected it, he would bring his final stage to fruition.

Orochimaru was a modest man. Somewhat. He wasn't one to flaunt his obvious high mental capacity, because he was modest, and he had an entire village waiting to do that for him. But when pitted against Tsunade and her band of dense Konoha shinobi...

Orochimaru was a downright genius.

* * *

Kisame remained kneeling, head slightly bowed as he watched the ground avidly, listening in respectful silence as his leader spoke to him.

"Itachi. What did you tell him regarding this matter?" The soft voice echoed through the cavern they resided in temporarily, reverberating off the blank walls and travelling aimlessly around. Kisame found it hard to concentrate on the voice.

"Nothing much. I just told him that he wasn't dead. I didn't say anything about his disappearance."

"Hm. Orochimaru seems to be moving in. Apparently he believes he has some claim to Uchiha. Prove him wrong, why don't you. Rather...you and Uchiha."

Kisame nodded his head once to show he understood.

"Those will be the terms he accepts should he join. He will find Itachi and finish him off. After all, who are we to deny the boy his life-long goal, hm?"

Kisame nodded once, and when the silence continued he glanced up and saw that he was alone in the cave. He sighed as he stood to take his leave. It seemed that the world was revolving around the last Uchiha's. Now he had to take care of that bastard Sannin who refused to grow up. Kisame sighed to himself again.

"I'm getting too old for this."

* * *

This was shorter than the previous, but I think it's for the best. At least it's an update, right? Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors, as my eyes ache and I don't feel like reading over this again. You can do that. Next chapter will have some action. Finally. Woo hoo.

If you so choose, you can leave a review. If you don't...a pox on you.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ode to an Avenger**

**-**

**5**

**-**

When Anko felt the dull pain in her left palm, she tried to open her eyes wide enough to see what had happened. It seemed as though her memory had abandoned her for the time being. She didn't know why she was so tired, or why her whole body hurt... and she really didn't know why Asuma was sitting on the edge of her bed, dropping cigarette ash all over the coverlet.

She angrily kicked at the small pile of gray ash that was dusting her black sheet. Asuma sat back, startled at the sudden reaction. She opened her eyes and glared at him.

"You awake, Anko?"

Oh please. "No. I'm just sleeping with my eyes open." Asuma nodded at her comment.

"Wouldn't be the first time," he said, inhaling deeply on his cigarette and chewing wetly. She kicked at him again before sitting up, keeping her waist down under the covers.

"You better not be implying that you watch me sleep, you sick freak," she warned. Seeing him about to answer she added, "For your own good." He grinned brightly at her and shook his head.

"No worries, Anko. My tastes run towards women." He made a noise of protest when the pillow she threw knocked his cigarette from his mouth onto the floor, where he watched it smolder pitifully. "I saved your life, you know."

"And I just saved yours, so we're even," she replied, adjusting herself against the wall behind her. She flexed her hands, then grimaced at the flare in her left palm. Again it stung slightly. She held up her left hand and splayed her fingers, showing the faint red scars to Asuma. "Mind telling me where these came from?"

Asuma raised an eyebrow as he vainly tried to salvage his cigarette. "You mean you don't remember what happened in the Hokage's tower before?"

"Obviously not if I'm asking you," Anko pointed out, her patience wearing thin. Asuma shrugged and sat back up on the end of her bed, leaning back against the board at the foot of the bed and idly toying with a fresh cigarette.

"Before we were training, and you used some jutsu the snake fellow taught you, and your curse seal just kind of went hay-wire," he explained, glancing not too discreetly at her left shoulder. Anko frowned and rubbed at the seal with her left hand. Immediately she felt an odd buzz run from hand to shoulder and back, but then it died down and she brushed it off as her muscles awakening.

"Hokage cut your palm up, you and the Uchiha kid, said something about it keeping your seals settled. I don't know, Anko, you know I don't follow this kind of stuff too well." Anko snorted and blew her hair from her face.

"Yeah, I know," she promised him. She frowned at the unsettled feeling radiating from her seal. It was flaring slightly, but Anko, being Anko, ignored it and hoped it would go away on its own. Everything always went away on its own if ignored.

Except, apparently, for Asuma.

-

When Sasuke woke up and felt the dull pain in his left hand, he immediately lay still and tried to bring his mind up to speed, and figure out why it was hurting. More importantly, where exactly he was laying down.

He took in the faint scent of leaves and spice and allowed himself to relax. Neji was close by, or at least had been fairly recently. Judging by the soft surface under him, he cleverly deduced he was on a bed. The heat on his closed eyelids told him it was either dawn or high noon, because of the brightness and all.

Then Sasuke decides that it must be someone he knows or trusts who is standing over him and creating that cool shadow on his eyes. He blinks and opens them fully, taking in the sight that is Neji. Neji with his black hair tied back like always. Neji with the small, barely noticeable crease of worry between his eyes. Neji with only a pair of long black pants on, and stray water droplets on his chest that proudly announce he had just stepped from the shower.

Sasuke unconsciously licked his lips.

Neji's eyes smiled at that and he stretched back, exposing his tight chest and lithe stomach, arms out in front of him as he twisted his back and made the most tantalizing little sound, halfway between a groan and sigh. He allowed his slightly damp hair to shake down the length of his back, wrapping soft tendrils around his waist.

Sasuke was up and on top of him before he could react. Neji was falling under their combined weight and landed with a soft _thump _on the blanket on the floor that Sasuke had apparently kicked off in his sleep. Sasuke blinked away the lightheadedness that fell around him and focussed on the smirking Neji, who had the look of _I knew you couldn't resist._

"Shut up," Sasuke growled, and leaned down, threading his fingers through Neji's silky tresses. His right hand slipped it's way over his smooth chest, pausing long enough to rub at the dip between his collarbones before travelling up to lightly caress his elegant neck. Neji sighed into the kiss, his tongue darting up to push against Sasuke's.

Sasuke ran both hands slowly down his sides, tracing the ridges of ribs and sternum and finally, hips. Before his hand could travel any lower Neji broke off the kiss, taking a moment to gasp in air as he held Sasuke's hands where they were, level with his waist.

"How about you don't?" Neji suggested softly, commending himself mentally for his excellent show of self-control in the face of a lusty eyed and eager Sasuke. At his confused look Neji explained, "You don't have the stamina to do..._that _for me."

Sasuke's dark eyes glinted in the rising sunlight. "Sounds like a challenge."

"Sasuke, I–"

"Need to shut up and take it like a man." In one swift movement he had slipped his hands from Neji's hold, one sliding under the untied waistband of Neji's pants, while he brought his right hand up to run his thumb along Neji's jawline, turning his head for better access for another kiss. Neji took a shuddering breath as Sasuke's cool hand, the left one ridged with the day-old cuts wrapped around him. Sasuke's left hand...

"You–you're right-handed," Neji managed to say, turning his head and licking his lips. Sasuke sighed at him and shook his head, moving his head back toward him.

"Tch. You should know by now, Neji. I'm a man of many talents..." he moved his left hand quickly down Neji's length and grinned. "Ambidextrous, you know. Now shut it."

Neji could only comply as Sasuke kissed him again with a fierce determination, plunging deep into his mouth and sucking lightly. With his left hand increasing in speed, a white noise began to make itself known in Neji's brain. He blinked to try to see past the shroud of bright white that hung over his vision, seeing the dark angel above him doing things that an angel most certainly would not do.

Sasuke grinned over Neji's warm lips, feeling the tension underneath his hand and mouth. He relished in the feel of their tongues sliding over each other, the heat in him that he knew was from Neji, the feelings that he had whenever they were together. Neji's eyes had slipped closed, his breaths coming shorter than before as Sasuke's left hand worked faster than before, increasing in both speed and grip.

All at once air refused to enter his lungs, and the white buzz had increased to a roar and it seemed like a white veil had been thrown over his eyes, leaving him in a sterile world, and Neji was only faintly aware of Sasuke's weight on top of him. Warm breath in his ear brought him back, and the fog lifted to reveal a proudly grinning Sasuke, licking one hand as the other smoothed Neji's sweat-damp hair.

"How's that for stamina?"

-

Kisame dug his blade into the ground and settled back against it, watching his prey carefully. The snake Sannin's bitch, Kabuto, had been circling around the northern perimeter of Konoha since before dawn, and it was now about three hours after.

Kisame had his orders, plain and clear: keep Orochimaru and Uchiha separated. It would not, the Leader had explained, do him any good to have the two of them join up again. Not if Akatsuki wanted a new member.

It was not, Kisame had long ago decided, the fact that Uchiha was vital to Akatsuki or anything; rather that this whole affair had turned into a personal matter between the Leader and Orochimaru. Nor would it do any good to fail the head of Akatsuki. Kisame wasn't exactly eager to meet with the same fate as Uchiha Itachi, after all. Whatever that may be.

So Kisame stood as he had for the past four hours, his spine protesting at remaining so rigid for so long. He watched as Kabuto skipped about, setting up a ward here, a trap there. He would have dearly loved to put Kabuto out of his misery, because if there was one thing Kisame loathed more than anything, it was seeing a man so disgustingly servile and obedient. Sadly, though, he had orders not to–

_Wait a minute..._Kisame thought to himself, feeling his stiff cheeks crack as he slowly grinned. _I have no such orders. _With a spring in his step and a swing of his sword, Kisame was bounding out to meet Kabuto.

The white-haired medic nin smiled up at Kisame as he stood in front of him, straightening slowly. "Kisame, if I'm not mistaken."

Kisame smirked back at him, feeling the excitement of an upcoming fight broiling in his gut. "Didn't know you were allowed to talk without a certain someone's permission, Kabuto."

Kabuto said nothing, choosing to drop the friendly facade and draw out three slim senbon. Kisame nodded and waved Samehada at him. "Mine's bigger than yours."

Three minutes, twenty-four seconds later, Kisame was wiping at the viscous liquid covering his shimmering blade. He grinned down at the panting Kabuto, his teeth biting into his bottom lip. "I told you, bigger is better."

He sheated Samehada again and sauntered off, stopping only when he felt a faint pulse of chakra as Kabuto tried to heal the gash that had nearly sliced him in half. Kisame pulled the senbon that had, slick with its' wielder's blood, stuck to his left bicep and twisted it between his fingers. "Before I forget..."

He spun around and the needle whistled through the air, neatly sliding in Kabuto's throat, poking out the back. With a dismayed and bloody gurgle Kabuto's glowing hands dimmed and fell, and he hit the ground from his crouched position, fertilizing the grassy dirt with red, red blood.

Kisame waited while his eyes glazed over, and there was no breath left in his body, to move forward again as inspiration struck. His eyes gleamed with his idea as he once again pulled forth his blade, tongue flicking away the dots of blood on his face.

-

When Orochimaru woke, he was standing where he had been when he allowed himself to sleep. After dawn already. He sighed to himself and glanced around for Kabuto, already knowing he wasn't anywhere nearby. This was, he knew, the day he'd been waiting for, and he wanted to take his excitement out on someone. Namely Kabuto.

Orochimaru heard the wind parting, and with a quick spin on his heel he had moved twelve meters from the flying projectile, whatever it was. Where he had been standing seconds ago, a roughly shaped sphere landed. He tested it from afar, determined it was safe, and moved forward after a cursory look around.

He sighed in disappointment as Kabuto's lifeless eyes stare back at him, mouth slightly parted and still-warm blood rolling down from it, onto the bloody tendrils of ripped cartilage and flesh. Damnation. He still required Kabuto's disguise to find out how Orochimaru's favourite little curse seal bearers were holding out.

Ah well. Orochimaru mentally shrugged and kicked the head away, lips curling in disgust as some of the blood clung to his tan sandals. He'd always thought that boy more of a mess than he was worth.

-

Sasuke pushed back the black shower curtain and stepped out, shaking the water from his eyes as he reached for a towel. Neji had left, thankfully, saying something about needing to speak with Lee about. This made it actually possible for Sasuke to get the towel wrapped around his waist and keep it there for more than three seconds.

Rubbing the condensation from the small oval mirror Sasuke glared at the vivid redness of his skin, that seemed to glow like a signal in the bright light and heated air. He absently ran his left hand over his seal as it stung sharply and ignored the buzz that shot from palm to shoulder and back. It had done that since he first touched it with his healed hand, after Neji had told him about last night's events in the Hokage's office.

He sighed and dropped the towel, reaching for the black pants he had brought in with him. He tied them then attacked his wet hair with a smaller towel, shaking it vigorously and feeling the water droplets slap his chest. He stretched his arms over his head, tossing the towel behind him to slump in a wet pile with the other.

Sasuke sighed to himself after seeing that he'd forgotten to bring in his shirt with him after Neji had so kindly taken it off for him. Even though it was his house, Sasuke never felt comfortable walking around half-dressed unless there was a reason. Like the presence of a certain Hyuuga. But, no such luck today, so he'd have to scamper off to his room quickly and grab a top there.

Cool air hit him as he opened the bathroom door, the heat pushing him from behind and the combination of the two made him feel lightheaded. It was only when he felt the wind part on his left that he realized someone was there and had just leaped at him. That, or thrown a chair at him.

"Sexual assault!" The loud yell was accompanied by a crushing weight wrapping itself around Sasuke's upper body. He staggered to the right and reflexively dropped to the ground, rolling the person above him off and into the wall behind him. Sasuke brought his chakra into action, letting it pulsate around his body and was surprised at the sudden _whoosh _of hot air that spread from his back and entwined around his limbs.

There was a loud laugh to his right that Sasuke knew all too well. "Aah, Sasuke, you should have seen your face! You were all 'duhh...' and I was all amazing until you over-reacted and made my head smack the wall. _Ow_, by the way," Narutp yelled in his typically breathless-from-laughing way.

Sasuke stood and glared down at the blonde sprawled against the wall. "Idiot. You should have known I'd do that." With a grunt Naruto leaped up and pushed himself away from the wall.

"Yeah well, it's like I say–" He stopped and raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. "Don't tell me I'm _that _much of a threat." At Sasuke's look, he ran his hands up and down his own arms.

"The curse seal? I don't think you should be using that so soon after yesterday." Sasuke glanced down and found the surface of his skin crawling with the fiery marks. He frowned to himself. That shouldn't have happened so easily...

Naruto watched in silence as Sasuke closed his eyes and his body stiffen, reigning in the seal. It crept back reluctantly, as impossibly slow as if he'd ordered the rain to fall up. With a loud exhalation the seal was retracted fully and spun lazily on Sasuke's shoulder before stopping.

Sasuke was brushing past him when Naruto snapped himself from his reverie. He turned and banged down the hall past Sasuke, pushing his way into the bedroom he knew his friend was heading for. Naruto threw himself face-first on the bed and sighed loudly, before inhaling and ultimately gagging.

"God, Sasuke! This whole room smells like sex!"

Sasuke pushed open the closet doors and reached in for a black shirt. He tugged it over his head before replying, "Well, Naruto, it's like this: When two people love each other very much and live together, there are things they do in their bedroom that–"

"–are _not _suitable for anyone to know about! Thank you, I get it." Naruto flipped over on his stomach and pulled a face at Sasuke's outfit. "Must you wear all black? That's the reason you're so pasty you know. Not enough exposure to the Sun. Unlike me. I live in the light."

"Explains why you look like a defecation of the Sun then," Sasuke answered, pushing the sleeves up past his elbows. He sighed as he saw Naruto mouth _defecation _to himself. "Don't worry about it. Now what do you want?"

"Ah, the old hag wants you to go see her. Follow-up, don't you know. Plus I brought back the pervert from his scouting expedition." Naruto lowered his voice and leaned forward conspiratorially. "Him and Kakashi have been talking for a few hours already. They both seem real happy about something but I don't know what."

"Did you find Jiraiya in a brothel?"

"Course. Where else? Surrounded by tons of women... at least I think they were women..."

"And he had pen and paper?" Naruto nodded.

"Uh huh."

"There you go then."

Naruto blinked at him for a second, then grimaced. "Ugh. Those two really need to be confined to the jail. Maybe they can stop corrupting innocent youths."

"Doubtful. Anyways, what do I need to see the Hokage for?" Naruto rolled off the bed and stomped to his feet, knocking on Sasuke's head.

"Hello? Dunce, did you already forget? She needs to see you about yesterday. Anko has to go too. So come on, already." He spun around and leaped over to the open window, jumping on the sill and sat expectantly.

Sasuke slipped on his sandals and weapons pouch, opting to leave his katana behind. Naruto pushed off the windowsill and landed in the yard, followed closely by Sasuke. Together they ran towards the center of Konoha, running along the rooftops to avoid the crowded marketplace with it's brightly coloured awnings and wandering customers.

Sasuke followed Naruto up the outside of the tower, jumping from ledge to ledge until they reached the large round window of the Hokage's office. They stepped inside and subsequently had to duck from the metal drink coaster that sailed towards them, embedding itself in the wood-panelled walls with a loud thump.

"Brat! What the hell took so long?" Tsunade's annoyed voice broke over the quiet murmurs of conversation that were going on between Kakashi and Jiraiya. "I sent you to Uchiha's over half an hour ago!"

"Pssh. Relax, woman. I had to teach Sasuke a very important lesson on the very real dangers of sexual assault in one's own home," Naruto explained, grinning brightly. Tsunade looked to Sasuke who only shook his head, and she nodded.

"Right, I won't ask. We have a slightly more pressing matter to deal with at any rate." She turned to Jiraiya who had produced a scribbled page of drawings and was showing them to a rather enthusiastic Kakashi. "Jiraiya."

The two continued to ignore her, both eating up the unfolding plot that Jiraiya had discovered on his recent travels. "Jiraiya! Dammit man!" Tsunade stormed over and ripped the paper from their sweaty grasp, throwing it on the floor and slamming her foot on it so hard the wood groaned underneath it.

"Tsunadeeeeeee..." Jiraiya whined loudly. The Hokage's only response was to backhand Jiraiya across her office. She looked mildly satisfied as he crashed against the wall and slid to the floor, moaning to himself as he rubbed at the tender back of his head. Kakashi wisely stood at attention, fighting to keep the pleased grin from his face as Jiraiya got his punishment.

"Now," Tsunade said, brushing her hair from her face," Jiraiya, my dear, dear friend, why don't you tell all assembled here what you've learned on your latest reconnaissance mission?"

"The women of Lightening are Easy with a capital E– and that's a disgusting thing," he amended, grinning sheepishly at the glowering Hokage.

"Well, since this brat here dragged me away, I wasn't able to collect all the data I require for volume forty-eight: _Merry Brothel Adventures. _But I did–"he ducked under a rock paperweight–" ahem. I _did _make some interesting discoveries about Akatsuki. It seems as though one of their top members has gone missing. "He glanced at Sasuke and continued. "Uchiha Itachi had been sent on a mission four days ago. When I heard he didn't return, I had some sources find out that no one in Akatsuki knew what happened to him. Perhaps the leader does, but you know how impossible it is to find out anything about him. Took me two years to find out he was a man."

Tsunade sighed and nodded. "So the Uchiha is MIA, no one knows where the hell he is, if he's even alive...what did you find out about his partner, Hoshigaki?"

"He was supposed to be in Snow for two weeks before meeting the Uchiha, but far as we can tell, that never happened. It's very possible that he's with Akatsuki now, trying to decide on a new partner or dealing with the Uchiha," Jiraiya answered.

Sasuke shifted from his position against the wall, trying to decide if he should tell them about his encounter the day before with Kisame. If he did, then maybe they could find him and see what he knew about Itachi. If Sasuke were to tell them what he'd been offered, he had a feeling that their shaky trust in him might fail completely. The last thing he needed was to be kept under house arrest again, when this whole issue with Orochimaru was on-going.

If he didn't tell them, however, then Kisame and Akatsuki would have the advantage of a surprise attack. This all could be a ploy to get Naruto, Sasuke admitted that much to himself. But if it wasn't, and they became violently insistent about Sasuke joining the organization, then Konoha could be at risk. Sasuke sighed to himself as his conscience won out.

"Hokage-sama, there's an incident I think you would like to know about, while we're on the topic," he said, reminding himself that this was probably for the best. Perhaps he could find out about Itachi from it. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi and Naruto looked to him. Sasuke absently noted Anko wasn't there yet as he continued.

"Yesterday at the training fields, I was waiting for Neji to practice with. I sensed a certain chakra, and when I came into the clearing it was Hoshigaki Kisame." Sasuke paused and decided against telling them of the offer or the ring. "He said that Itachi wasn't dead, but I don't believe he knows what might have happened to him. He said that he would need a new partner to work with now."

Tsunade put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Why the hell didn't you mention this before?" Sasuke sighed to himself. How did this woman get to become Hokage?

"This is the first time I've been conscious since then, Hokage-sama. I couldn't have told you before now."

Tsunade stared back at him, wheels turning in her sleep-deprived head as she worked out what he said. Finally she nodded. "Right you are."

"What did he want, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked Sasuke'e eyes flicked to him. He felt a small ball of dread form in his stomach. Of course Kakashi would assume something.

Sasuke shrugged. "He just wanted me to know that I was responsible for him having to work alone. He didn't try to fight or anything; he knew how close we were to Konoha. I don't think even he's that dim-witted."

Sasuke could tell from Kakashi's skeptical look that he didn't believe that was the whole story. Sasuke stared back steadily, daring Kakashi to try to make him say something he didn't wan to, but the other man only nodded once. Sasuke sighed again. He had a feeling that he would not be left alone when he got home.

"Wait, this is Kisame, that ugly shark guy, right?" Naruto asked, glancing from Sasuke to the Hokage. "He's so weak! I say we get him back here and make him tell us what he knows about this whole Itachi deal. Tell you what. I'll go drag his sorry ass here and–"

"No." Tsunade's sharp voice cut in. "We still need to find out who was disguised as you, Naruto. It may have been him, or one of Orochimaru's men. I have ANBU on that already, so you, brat, are not to horn in on their investigation. Am I clear?"

"But that's not fair, you old–"

"Am I clear?"

"Mmm...fine. But if your ANBU get him before I get a chance to see him, then I blame you," Naruto warned, crossing his arms and casting the Hokage a stern look.

"Of course you will. Right, Uchiha and Anko. Now...where the hell is Anko?!" Tsunade glared at Naruto. "I thought I told you to bring them both here!" Naruto raised an eyebrow at her.

"When would you have done that? Remember, I came back with the pervert and you freaking _attacked _me because that seemed better than asking questions first." Naruto shook his head. "Honestly hag, you're getting to be so old that your memory is going. Better watch that."

Tsunade kicked his shin and jabbed her finger to the window. "You have three minutes. And counting." Naruto glared. "Now, brat!"

Naruto sighed and muttered darkly under his breath, over exaggerating the limp in his leg as he jumped from the window. Silence reigned in the office as they waited. Jiraiya tried discreetly to salvage what was left of his story, but soon straightened under Tsunade's glare. After what seemed an eternity Naruto came bursting through the office door, with Anko and Asuma in tow.

"Two minutes and fourteen seconds! Count 'em!" He crowed triumphantly as he barreled past Tsunade and took up his former post next to the window. Asuma leaned against the shut door and took a long puff on his cigarette.

"And never mind the old fruit vendor Yahiro's decimated stand," he drawled, giving Naruto a meaningful look. Naruto shrugged and replied, "He should have known better than to set up his stall where he did. Honestly, who just plunks it down on the corner near Ichiraku? That's just plain rude."

"Naruto! Ten hours community service!" Tsunade snapped, glaring at the blonde. Naruto's mouth dropped as he instantly began to protest.

"That's not fair! It wasn't _my _fault I tripped–"

"Twenty hours! Now shut up and sit down." She turned back to Anko. "Now, Anko. How is it today?" Anko shrugged her shoulder and nodded.

"It's fine, Hokage-sama. Dormant. As usual." Tsunade nodded and faced Sasuke.

"What about yours, Uchiha? Same?"

"Yes. Same." Tsunade took a deep breath and closed her eyes, face marginally relaxed.

"So it seems like we have a break, no matter how short-lived. Now, this is important and pertains to both of you, so listen good. I don't want either of you to be active for the next few days. This means no ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu. Neither of you will take any missions for at least one more week, at which point I expect the both of you here." Sasuke and Anko both nodded, adding in a murmured "Yes, Hokage-sama."

Anko and Sasuke exchanged glances, and for a moment were stuck, looking at each other. They each felt a deep burning on their left shoulders, and it seeped heat around them.

Sasuke suddenly realized that Anko was possibly the greatest threat to him right now. Itachi was missing, likely dead, Orochimaru...well, he'd never posed much harm to Sasuke anyways. But Anko, she had the same curse mark as him, the same abilities as he had. Well, not yet. He knew, Orochimaru had told him, that she had never had the opportunity to develop anything past the first level. Sasuke smirked to himself. Point to him.

Anko glared at the Uchiha, feeling a deep resentment to him. How dare the little bastard be chosen over her by Orochimaru? How dare he study under the Sannin and learn more than she did, and gain more skills with the curse seal than she could ever hope to? Smug jerk, flaunting the fact that he was the favoured one right in front of her. She wondered if he hated her as much as she hated him right now.

Both felt the angry burn of their curse seals as they fed off the contemptuous feelings. Both saw the stiffening of each other's postures, and neither missed the hateful look in their eyes.

Somewhere through all this, in the logical parts of their minds, where Sasuke's voice was saying _why are you thinking like this _and Anko's told her _this smug little jerk doesn't deserve such attention_, but the instinct of the seal overpowered their inner voices, the instinct o hunt. Kill. Revel in bloodshed.

Deeper they were both told to have patience. Now was not the time. Later though; later offered many opportunities that worked well. So instead of saying anything, the two glared at each other and allowed their instincts to fester and control their impulses, and wait excitedly for the promise of later.

Later would be...interesting.

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Sorry for the long wait. Little over a month. Originally this chapter was forty-seven pages long and I was stilll working on it, so I stopped myself at this part, and the next chapter, posted in one week, has the full action parts. Lots of action, yes. I'll give you a hint: Death. Gasp! I know. So chew on that for a while.

So, sorry if the ending seems abrupt, and just know that the next chapter will take off right where this one did, or didn't, leave off. And feel free to leave a review. No pressure, really, only I will doubt and damn myself forever if I get none. Ooh, and happy Hallowe'en! Six days early, but whatever.


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